.a 


7 


"i  DON'T  SEE  HOW  THEY  GOT  INTO  THIS  SAFE," 

Tk*  Rover  Boys  in  Bust  net*.  Frotttitfitct  (.Pag*  177) 


THE   ROVER  BOYS 

IN  BUSINESS 

OR 
THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  MISSING  BONDS 

BY 

ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL,  THR 

ROVER.BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN,  THE  PUTNAM 

HALL  SERIES,  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 

GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS 

Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


BOOKS  BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 


THE  FIRST  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  OUT  WEST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 


THE  SECOND  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 
THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 


THE  PUTNAM  HALL  SERIES 

THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CADETS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  RIVALS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CHAMPIONS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  REBELLION 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  ENCAMPMENT 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  MYSTERY 


I2mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1915,  BY 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER 


The  Rover  Boys  in  Business 


1 


INTRODUCTION 

M*  DEAR  BOYS  :  This  book  is  a  complete 
story  in  itself,  but  forms  the  nineteenth  volume 
in  a  line  issued  under  the  general  title  of  "The 
Rover  Boys  Series  for  Young  Americans." 

As  I  have  mentioned  in  several  other  volumes, 
this  series  was  started  a  number  of  years  ago  with 
the  publication  of  "  The  Rover  Boys  at  School," 
"On  the  Ocean,"  and  "In  the  Jungle."  I  am 
happy  to  say  the  books  were  so  well  liked  that 
they  were  followed,  year  after  year,  by  the  pub 
lication  of  "  The  Rover  Boys  Out  West,"  "  On 
the  Great  Lakes,"  "  In  Camp,"  "  On  Land  and 
Sea,"  "On  the  River,"  "On  the  Plains,"  "In 
Southern  Waters,"  "  On  the  Farm,"  "  On  Treas 
ure  Isle,"  "At  College,"  "Down  East,"  "In  the 
Air,"  "  In  New  York,"  and  finally  "  In  Alaska," 
where  we  last  met  the  lads. 

During  all  these  adventures  the  Rover  boys' 
have  been  growing  older.    Dick  is  now  married 
and  conducting  his  father's  business  in  New  York 
City  and  elsewhere.    The  fun-loving  Tom  and  his 


2076525 


INTRODUCTION 

sturdy  younger  brother,  Sam,  are  at  Brill  College. 
The  particulars  are  given  of  a  great  baseball 
game;  and  then  Tom  and  Sam  return  home,  to 
be  startled  by  a  most  unusual  message  from  Dick, 
calling  them  to  New  York  immediately.  Some 
bonds  of  great  value  have  mysteriously  disap- 
^peared,  and  unless  these  are  recovered  the  Rover 
fortune  may  be  seriously  impaired.  What  the 
boys  did  under  these  circumstances,  I  will  leave 
the  pages  which  follow  to  disclose. 

Once  more  thanking  my  host  of  young  readers 
for  the  interest  they  have  taken  in  my  books,  I 
remain, 

Affectionately  and  sincerely  yours, 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  AT  THE  RIVER I 

II.  To  THE  RESCUE 14 

III.  SOMETHING  OF  A  SURPRISE 25 

IV.  A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING 35 

V.  THREE  LETTERS 46 

VI.  BASEBALL  TALK 57 

VII.  THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME 66 

VIII.  How  THE  GAME  ENDED 77 

IX.  CELEBRATING  THE  VICTORY 87 

X.  THE  FIRE  AT  HOPE 97 

XL  To  THE  RESCUE 107 

XII.  TOM  SPEAKS  His  MIND 118 

XIII.  AT  THE  FARM 128 

XIV.  A   STARTLING   SCENE 138 

XV.  A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE 146 

XVI.  THE  MOVING  PICTURE 156 

XVII.  WHAT  DICK  HAD  TO  TELL 165 

XVIII.  AT  THE  OFFICES 174 

XIX.  THE  FIRST  CLEW 182 

XX.  BARTON  PELTER  AGAIN 191 

XXL  DAYS  OF  ANXIOUS  WAITING 201 

XXII.  THE  MOVING  PICTURE  AGAIN 209 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIII.  ON  THE  EAST  SIDE 217 

XXIV.  ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION 226 

XXV.  MORE  TELEGRAMS 235 

XXVI.  IN  WHICH  THE  GIRLS  ARRIVE 243 

XX VII.  THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SAFE 251 

XXVIII.  JOSIAH  CRABTREE  ONCE  MORE 259 

XXIX.  THE  JAPANNED  Box 267 

XXX.  MRS.  TOM  ROVER — CONCLUSION 278 


THE  ROVER  BOYS 
IN  BUSINESS 


CHAPTER  D 
AT  THE  RIVER 

"SAM!" 

No  answer. 

"  I  say,  Sam,  can't  you  listen  for  just  a  mo 
ment?" 

"  Oh,  Tom,  please  don't  bother  me  now ! "  and 
Sam  Rover,  with  a  look  of  worry  on  his  face, 
glanced  up  for  a  moment  from  his  writing-table. 
"  I've  got  to  finish  this  theme  before  to-morrow 
morning." 

"  Oh,  I  know !  But  listen ! "  And  Tom  Rover's 
face  showed  his  earnestness.  "  Last  night  it  was 
full  moonlight,  and  to-night  it  is  going  to  be 
equally  clear.  Why  can't  we  get  out  the  auto  and 
pay  a  visit  to  Hope?  You  know  we  promised 
the  girls  that  we  would  be  up  some  afternoon  or 
evening  this  week." 

i 


2  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Sounds  good,  Tom,  but  even  if  we  went  after 
supper,  could  we  get  there  in  time?  You  know: 
all  visitors  have  to  leave  before  nine  o'clock." 

"  We  can  get  there  if  we  start  as  soon  as  we 
finish  eating.  Can't  you  finish  the  theme  after 
we  get  back?  Maybe  I  can  help  you." 

"Help  me?  On  this  theme!"  Sam  grinned 
broadly.  "  Tom,  you  don't  know  what  you  are 
talking  about.  Do  you  know  what  this  theme  is 
on?" 

"No,  but  I  can  help  you  if  I  have  to." 

"  This  is  on  '  The  Theory  Concerning  the  Evo 
lution  of ' " 

"  That's  enough,  Sam ;  don't  give  me  any  of  it 
now.  Time  enough  for  that  when  we  have  to 
get  at  it.  There  goes  the  supper  bell.  Now, 
downstairs  with  you!  and  let  us  get  through  as 
soon  as  possible  and  be  on  our  way." 

"  All  right,  just  as  you  say ! "  and  gathering  up 
a  number  of  sheets  of  paper,  Sam  thrust  them  in 
the  drawer  of  the  writing-table. 

"By  the  way,  it's  queer  we  didn't  get  any 
letter  to-day  from  Dick,"  the  youngest  Rover 
observed. 

At  the  mention  of  their  brother's  name,  Tom's 
face  clouded  a  little. 

"  It  is  queer,  Sam,  and  I  must  say  I  don't  like 
it.  I  think  this  is  a  case  where  no  news  is  bad 


AT  THE  RIVER  3 

news.  I  think  if  everything  was  going  along  all 
right  in  New  York,  Dick  would  surely  let  us 
know.  I  am  afraid  he  is  having  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  in  straightening  out  Dad's  business." 

"  Just  the  way  I  look  at  it,"  responded  Sam,  as 
the  brothers  prepared  to  leave  the  room. 

"  One  thing  is  sure,  Pelter,  Japson  &  Company 
certainly  did  all  they  could  to  mix  matters  up, 
and  I  doubt  very  much  if  they  gave  Dad  all  that 
was  coming  to  him." 

"  I  believe  I  made  a  mistake  in  coming  back 
to  college,"  pursued  Tom,  as  the  two  boys  walked 
out  into  the  corridor,  where  they  met  several 
other  students  on  the  way  to  the  dining  hall.  "  I 
think  I  ought  to  have  given  up  college  and  gone 
to  New  York  City  to  help  Dick  straighten  out 
that  business  tangle.  Now  that  Dad  is  sick  again, 
the  whole  responsibility  rests  on  Dick's  shoulders, 
and  he  ought  not  to  be  made  to  bear  it  alone." 

"Well,  if  you  feel  that  way,  Tom,  why  don't 
you  break  away  and  go?  I  think,  perhaps,  it 
would  be  not  only  a  good  thing  for  Dick,  but  it 
would,  also,  be  a  good  thing  for  you,"  and,  for 
the  moment,  Sam  looked  very  seriously  at  his 
brother. 

Tom  reddened  a  bit,  and  then  put  his  forefinger 
to  his  forehead.  "You  mean  it  would  help  me 
•here?"  And  then,  as  Sam  nodded,  he  added: 


4  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Oh,  don't  you  worry.  I  am  all  right  now,  my 
head  doesn't  bother  me  a  bit.  But  I  do  wish  I 
could  get  just  one  good  chance  at  Pelter  for  the 
crack  that  rascal  gave  me  on  the  head  with  the 
footstool." 

"  It  certainly  was  a  shame  to  let  him  off,  Tom, 
but  you  know  how  father  felt  about  it.  He  was 
too  sick  to  be  worried  by  a  trial  at  law  and  all 
that." 

"  Yes,  I  know,  but  just  the  same,  some  day  I 
am  going  to  square  accounts  with  Mr.  Jesse  Pel 
ter,"  and  Tom  shook  his  head  determinedly. 

Passing  down  the  broad  stairway  of  Brill  Col 
lege,  the  two  Rover  boys  made  their  way  to  the 
dining  hall.  Here  the  majority  of  the  students 
were  rapidly  assembling  for  the  evening  meal, 
and  the  lads  found  themselves  among  a  host  of 
friends. 

"  Hello,  Songbird !  How  are  you  this  even 
ing?"  cried  Tom,  as  he  addressed  a  tall,  schol 
arly-looking  individual  who  wore  his  hair  rather 
long.  "Have  you  been  writing  any  poetry  to 
day?" 

"Well, — er — not    exactly,    Tom,"    muttered, 
John  Powell,  otherwise  known  as  Songbird  be 
cause  of  his  numerous  efforts  to  compose  whai: 
he  called  poetry.    "  But  I  have  been  thinking  up 
a  few  rhymes." 


AT  THE  RIVER  5 

"When  are  you  going  to  get  out  that  book 
pf  poetry  ?  " 

"What  book  is  that,  Tom?" 

"  Why,  as  if  you  didn't  know !  Didn't  you  tell 
me  that  you  were  going  to  get  up  a  volume  of 
*  Original  International  Poems  for  the  Grave  and 
Gay;'  five  hundred  pages,  fully  illustrated;  and 
bound  in  full  leather,  with  title  in  gold,  and " 

"Tom,  Tom,  now  please  stop  your  fooling!" 
pleaded  Songbird,  his  face  flushing.  "Just  be 
cause  I  write  a  poem  now  and  then  doesn't  say 
that  I  am  going  to  publish  a  book." 

"  No,  but  I'm  sure  you  will  some  day,  and 
you'll  make  a  fortune  out  of  it — or  fifteen  dol 
lars,  anyway." 

"  The  same  old  Tom ! "  cried  a  merry  voice, 
and  another  student  clapped  the  fun-loving 
Rover  on  the  shoulder.  "  I  do  believe  you  would 
rather  joke  than  eat!" 

"Not  on  your  life,  Spud!  and  I'll  prove  it  to 
you  right  now ! "  and  linking  his  arm  through 
that  of  Will  Jackson,  otherwise  "  Spud,"  Tom 
led  the  way  to  one  of  the  tables,  with  Sam  and 
several  of  the  other  students  following. 

"What  is  on  the  docket  for  to-night?"  asked 
/Songbird,  as  he  fell  to  eating. 

"Tom  and  I  are  going  to  take  a  little  run  in 
tHe  auto  to  Hope,"  answered  Sant 


6  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Oh,  I  see !  "  Songbird  Powell  shut  one  eye 
knowingly.  "  Going  up  there  to  see  the  teachers, 
I  suppose ! " 

"  Sure,  that  is  what  they  always  do ! "  came 
from  Spud,  with  a  wink. 

"  Sour  grapes,  Spud ! "  laughed  Sam.  "  You 
would  go  there  yourself  if  you  had  half  a  chance." 

"  Yes,  and  Songbird  would  want  to  go  along, 
too,  if  we  were  bound  for  the  Sanderson  cottage," 
put  in  Tom.  "  You  see,  in  Songbird's  eyes,  Min 
nie  Sanderson  is  just  the  nicest  girl " 

"  Now  stop  it,  Tom,  can't  you !  "  pleaded  poor 
Songbird,  growing  decidedly  red  in  the  face. 
"  Miss  Sanderson  is  only  a  friend  of  mine,  and 
you  know  it." 

Just  at  that  moment  the  students  at  the  table 
were  interrupted  by  the  approach  of  a  tall,  dud- 
ish-looking  individual,  who  wore  a  reddish-brown 
suit,  cut  in  the  most  up-to-date  fashion,  and  who 
sported  patent-leather  shoes,  and  a  white  carna 
tion  in  his  buttonhole.  The  newcomer  took  a 
vacant  chair,  sitting  down  with  a  flourish. 

"  I've  had  a  most  delightful  ramble,  don't  you 
know,"  he  lisped,  looking  around  at  the  others. 
"  I  have  been  through  the  sylvan  woods  and  by 

the  babbling  brook,  and  have " 

"  Great  Caesar's  tombstone !  "  exclaimed  Tom, 
looking  at  the  newcomer  critically.  "  Why,  my 


AT   THE   RIVER  7 

dearly  beloved  William  Philander,  you  don't 
mean  to  say  that  you  have  been  delving  through 
the  shadowy  nooks,  and  playing  with  the  bab 
bling  brook,  in  that  outfit?" 

"  Oh,  dear,  no,  Tom !  "  responded  William  Phi 
lander  Tubbs.  "  I  had  another  suit  on,  the  one 
;with  the  green  stripe,  don't  you  know, — the  one 
I  had  made  last  September — or  maybe  it  was  in 
October,  I  can't  really  remember.  But  you  must 
know  the  suit,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Sure !  I  remember  the  suit.  The  green- 
striped  one  with  the  faded-out  blue  dots  and  the 
red  diamond  check  in  the  corner.  Isn't  that  the 
same  suit  you  took  down  to  the  pawnbroker's  last 
Wednesday  night  at  fifteen  minutes  past  seven 
and  asked  him  to  loan  you  two  dollars  and  a  half 
on  it,  and  the  pawnbroker  wanted  to  know  if  the 
suit  was  your  own?" 

"My  dear  Tom!"  and  William  Philander 
looked  aghast.  "  You  know  well  enough  I  never 
took  that  suit  to  a  pawnbroker." 

"  Well,  maybe  it  was  some  other  suit.  Pos 
sibly  the  black  one  with  the  blue  stripes,  or  may 
be  it  was  the  blue  one  with  the  black  stripes. 
Really,  my  dearest  Philander,  it  is  immaterial  to 
me  what  suit  it  was."  And  Tom  looked  coldly 
indifferent  as  he  buttered  another  slice  of  bread. 

"  But  I  tell  you,  I  never  went  to  any  pawn- 


8  THE   ROVER   BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

broker !  "  pleaded  the  dudish  student.  "  I  would 
not  be  seen  in  any  such  horrid  place ! " 

"  Oh,  pawnbrokers  are  not  so  bad,"  came  from 
Spud  Jackson,  as  he  helped  himself  to  more  pota 
toes.  "  I  knew  of  one  fellow  down  in  New 
Haven  who  used  to  loan  thousands  of  dollars  to 
the  students  at  Yale.  He  was  considered  a  public 
benefactor.  When  he  died  they  closed  up  the  col 
lege  for  three  days  and  gave  him  a  funeral  over 
two  miles  long.  And  after  that,  the  students  raised 
a  fund  of  sixteen  thousand  dollars  with  which  to 
erect  a  monument  to  his  memory.  Now,  that  is 
absolutely  true,  and  if  you  don't  believe  it  you 
can  come  to  my  room  and  I  will  show  you  some 
dried  rose  leaves  which  came  from  one  of  the 
wreathes  used  at  the  obsequies."  And  a  general 
laugh  went  up  over  this  extravagant  statement. 

"  The  same  old  Spud ! "  cried  Sam,  as  he  gave 
the  story-teller  of  the  college  a  nudge  in  the  ribs. 
"  Spud,  you  are  about  as  bad  as  Tom." 

"  Chust  vat  I  tinks,"  came  from  Max  Spang- 
ler,  a  German-American  student  who  was  still 
struggling  with  the  difficulties  of  the  language. 
"  Only  I  tinks  bod  of  dem  vas  worser  dan  de 
udder."  And  at  this  rather  mixed  statement  an 
other  laugh  went  up. 

"  I  wish  you  fellows  would  stop  your  nonsense 
and  talk  baseball,"  came  from  Bob  Grimes,  an- 


AT  THE  RIVER  g 

other  student.  "Do  you  realize  that  if  we  ex 
pect  to  do  anything  this  spring,  we  have  got  to 
get  busy?" 

"  Well,  Bob,"  returned  Sam,  "  I  don't  see  how 
that  is  going  to  interest  me  particularly.  I  don't 
expect  to  be  on  any  nine  this  year." 

"  I  know,  Sam,  but  Tom,  here,  has  promised, 
to  play  if  he  can  possibly  get  the  time." 

"  And  so  I  will  play,"  said  Tom.  "  That  is, 
provided  I  remain  at  Brill." 

"  What,  do  you  mean  to  say  you  are  going  to 
leave ! "  cried  several  students. 

"  We  can't  do  without  you,  Tom,"  added  Song 
bird. 

"Of  course  we  can't,"  came  from  Bob  Grimes. 
"  We  need  Tom  the  worst  way  this  year." 

"Well,  I'll  talk  that  over  with  you  fellows 
some  other  time.  To-night  we  are  in  a  hurry." 
And  thus  speaking,  Tom  tapped  his  brother  on 
the  shoulder,  and  both  left  the  dining-room. 

As  my  old  readers  know,  the  Rover  boys  pos 
sessed  a  very  fine  automobile.  This  was  kept  in 
one  of  the  new  garages  on  the  place,  which  was 
presided  over  by  Abner  Filbury,  the  son  of  the 
'old  man  who  had  worked  for  years  around  the 
dormitories. 

"Is  she  all  ready,  Ab?"  questioned  Tom,  as 
the  young  man  came  forward  to  greet  them. 


10  THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  filled  her  up  with  gas  and  oil,  and 
she's  in  apple-pie  order." 

"  Why,  Tom ! "  broke  in  Sam,  in  surprise. 
"  You  must  have  given  this  order  before  sup 
per." 

"  I  did,"  and  Tom  grinned  at  his  younger 
brother.  "  I  took  it  for  granted  that  you  would 
make  the  trip."  And  thus  speaking,  Tom  leaped 
into  the  driver's  seat  of  the  new  touring  car. 
Then  Sam  took  his  place  beside  his  brother,  and 
in  a  moment  more  the  car  was  gliding  out  of  the 
garage,  and  down  the  curving,  gravel  path  lead 
ing  to  the  highway  running  from  Ashton  past 
Brill  College  to  Hope  Seminary. 

As  Tom  had  predicted,  it  was  a  clear  night, 
with  the  full  moon  just  showing  over  the  distant 
hills.  Swinging  into  the  highway,  Tom  in 
creased  the  speed  and  was  soon  running  at 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  an  hour. 

"  Don't  run  too  fast,"  cautioned  Sam.  "  Re 
member  this  road  has  several  dangerous  curves 
in  it,  and  remember,  too,  a  good  many  of  the 
countrymen  around  here  don't  carry  lights  when 
they  drive." 

"Oh,  I'll  be  careful,"  returned  Tom,  lightly. 
"  But  about  the  lights,  I  think  some  of  the  coun 
trymen  ought  to  be  fined  for  driving  in  the  dark 
ness  as  they  do.  I  think " 


AT  THE  RIVER  II 

"Hark!  what  sort  of  a  noise  is  that?"  inter 
rupted  the  younger  Rover. 

Both  boys  strained  their  ears.  A  shrill  honk 
of  a  horn  had  been  followed  by  a  heavy  rumble, 
and  now,  around  a  curve  of  the  road,  shot  the, 
beams  from  a  single  headlight  perched  on  a  heavy 
auto-truck.  This  huge  truck  was  coming  along 
at  great  speed,  and  it  passed  the  Rovers  with  a 
loud  roar,  and  a  scattering  of  dust  and  small 
stones  in  all  directions. 

"Great  Scott!"  gasped  Sam,  after  he  had  re 
covered  from  his  amazement.  "  Did  you  ever  see 
such  an  auto-truck  as  that,  and  running  at  such 
speed  ? " 

"  Certainly  some  truck,"  was  Tom's  comment 
"  That  must  have  weighed  four  or  five  tons.  I 
wonder  if  it  came  over  the  Paxton  River 
bridge?" 

"  If  it  did,  it  must  have  given  the  bridge  an 
awful  shaking  up.  That  bridge  isn't  any  too 
strong.  It  shakes  fearfully  every  time  we  go  over 
it.  Better  run  slow,  Tom,  when  we  get  there." 

"  I  will."  And  then  Tom  put  on  speed  once 
more  and  the  automobile  forged  ahead  as  be-' 
fore. 

A  short  run  up-hill  brought  them  to  the  point 
where  the  road  ran  down  to  the  Paxton  River. 
In  the  bright  moonlight  the  boys  could  see  the 


12  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

stream  flowing  like  a  sheet  of  silver  down  be 
tween  the  bushes  and  trees.  A  minute  more,  and 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  bridge. 

"  Stop !  "  said  Sam.  "  I  may  be  mistaken,  but 
that  bridge  looks  shifted  to  me." 

"  So  it  does,"  returned  Tom,  and  brought  the 
automobile  to  a  standstill.  Both  boys  leaped  out 
and  walked  forward. 

To  inspect  the  bridge  in  the  bright  moonlight 
was  easy,  and  in  less  than  a  minute  the  boys  made 
a  startling  discovery,  which  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  opposite  end  of  the  structure  had  been  thrown 
from  its  supports  and  was  in  danger  of  falling  at 
any  instant. 

"  This  is  mighty  bad,"  was  Sam's  comment. 
"Why,  Tom,  this  is  positively  dangerous.  If 
anybody  should  come  along  here " 

"Hark!"  Tom  put  up  his  hand,  and  both 
boys  listened.  From  the  top  of  the  hill  they  had 
left  but  a  moment  before,  came  the  sounds  of 
an  approaching  automobile,  rAn  instant  later  the 
rays  of  the  headlights  shot  into  view,  almost 
blinding  them. 

"  We  must  stop  them ! "  came  from  both  boys 
simultaneously.  But  scarcely  had  the  words  left 
their  lips,  when  they  saw  that  such  a  course  might 
be  impossible.  The  strange  automobile  was  com 
ing  down  the  hill  at  a  furious  rate.  Now,  as  the 


AT  THE  RIVER  13 

driver  saw  the  Rovers'  machine,  he  sounded  his 
horn  shrilly. 

"  He'll  have  a  smash-up  as  sure  as  fate ! " 
yelled  Sam,  and  put  up  his  hand  in  warning. 
Tom  did  likewise,  and  also  yelled  at  the  top  of 
his  lungs. 

But  it  was  too  late.  The  occupant  of  the 
strange  automobile — for  the  machine  carried  but 
a  single  person — tried  to  come  to  a  stop.  The 
brakes  groaned  and  squeaked,  and  the  car  swept 
slightly  to  one  side,  thus  avoiding  the  Rovers' 
machine.  Then,  with  power  thrown  off  and  the 
hand-brake  set,  it  rolled  out  on  the  bridge.  There 
was  a  snap,  followed  by  a  tremendous  crash,  and 
the  next  instant  machine  and  driver  disappeared 
with  a  splash  into  the  swiftly-flowing  river. 


CHAPTER   II 

TO  THE  RESCUE 

THE  accident  at  the  bridge  had  occurred  so 
suddenly  that,  for  the  instant,  neither  Rover  boy 
knew  what  to  do.  They  saw  that  the  farther 
end  of  the  bridge  had  given  way  completely. 
Just  where  the  end  rested  in  the  water  they  be 
held  several  small  objects  floating  about,  one  of 
them  evidently  a  cap,  and  another  a  small  wooden 
box.  But  the  automobile  with  its  driver  was  no 
where  to  be  seen. 

"  My  gracious !  That  fellow  will  surely  be 
drowned ! "  gasped  Sam,  on  recovering  from 
the  shock.  "Tom,  do  you  see  him  anywhere?" 

"No,  I  don't."  Tom  took  a  few  steps  for 
ward  and  gazed  down  into  the  swiftly-flowing 
stream.  "  Perhaps  he  is  pinned  under  the  auto, 
Sam!" 

"Wait,  I'll  get  the  searchlight,"  cried  the 
younger  Rover,  and  ran  back  to  their  automobile. 
The  boys  made  a  point  of  carrying  an  electric 
pocket  searchlight  to  be  used  in  case  they  had  to 


TO  THE  RESCUE.  15 

make  repairs  in  the  dark.  Securing  this,  and 
turning  on  the  light,  Sam  ran  forward  to  the? 
river  bank,  with  Tom  beside  him. 

To  those  who  have  read  the  previous  volumes 
in  this  "  Rover  Boys  Series  "  the  lads  just  men-; 
tioned  will  need  no  special  introduction.  For  the 
benefit  of  others,  however,  let  me  state  that  the 
Rover  boys  were  three  in  number;  Dick  being 
the  oldest,  fun-loving  Tom  coming  next,  and 
sturdy  Sam  being  the  youngest.  When  at  home, 
which  was  only  for  a  short  time  each  year,  the 
boys  lived  with  their  father,  Anderson  Rover,  and 
their  Uncle  Randolph  and  Aunt  Martha  on  a 
farm  called  Valley  Brook,  in  New  York  State. 

While  their  father  was  in  Africa,  the  boys  had 
been  sent  to  Putnam  Hall  Military  Academy,  as 
related  in  the  first  volume  of  this  series,  entitled 
"The  Rover  Boys  at  School."  There  they  had 
made  quite  a  few  friends,  and,  also,  some  en 
emies.* 

The  first  term  at  school  was  followed  by  an 
exciting  trip  on  the  ocean,  and  then  another  trip 
into  the  jungles  of  Africa,  where  the  boys  went 
looking  for  their  parent.  Then  came  a  journey 

*For  particulars  regarding  how  Putnam  Hall  Military 
Academy  was  organized,  and  what  fine  times  the  cadets 
there  enjoyed  even  before  the  Rovers  appeared  on  the 
scene,  read  "  The  Putnam  Hall  Series,"  six  volumes,  start 
ing  with  "  The  Putnam  Hall  Cadets." — PUBLISHERS. 


16  THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

to  the  West,  and  some  grand  times  on  the  Great 
Lakes  and  in  the  Mountains,  After  that,  the 
Rover  boys  came  back  to  the  Hall  to  go  into 
camp  with  their  fellow-cadets.  Then  they  took 
a  long  journey  over  land  and  sea,  being  cast  away 
on  a  lonely  island  in  the  Pacific. 

On  returning  home,  the  boys  had  imagined 
they  were  to  settle  down  to  a  quiet  life,  but  such 
was  not  to  be.  On  a  houseboat  the  lads,  with 
some  friends,  sailed  down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mis 
sissippi  rivers,  and  then  found  themselves  on  the 
Plains,  where  they  solved  the  mystery  of  Red 
Rock  ranch.  Then  they  set  sail  on  Southern 
Waters,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  discovered  a 
deserted  yacht. 

"  Now  for  a  good  rest,"  Sam  had  said,  and 
the  three  lads  had  returned  to  the  home  farm, 
where,  quite  unexpectedly,  more  adventures  be 
fell  them.  Then  they  returned  to  Putnam  Hall; 
and  all  graduated  with  considerable  honor. 

It  had  been  decided  by  Mr.  Rover  that  the  boys 
should  next  go  to  college,  and  he  selected  an 
institution  of  learning  located  in  the  Middle 
West,  not  far  from  the  town  of  Ashton.  Brill 
College  was  a  fine  place,  and  the  Rovers  knew 
they  would  like  it  as  soon  as  they  saw  it.  With 
them  went  their  old-time  school  chum,  Songbird 
Powell,  already  mentioned.  At  the  same  time, 


TO   THE  RESCUE  17 

William  Philander  Tubbs  came  to  the  college 
from  Putnam  Hall.  He  was  a  dudish  fellow, 
who  thought  far  more  of  dress  than  of  gaining 
an  education,  and  he  was  often  made  the  butt 
of  some  practical  joke. 

It  did  not  take  the  Rover  boys  long  to  make 
a  number  of  friends  at  Brill.  These  included 
Stanley  Browne,  a  tall,  gentlemanly  youth;  Bob 
Grimes,  who  was  greatly  interested  in  baseball 
and  other  sports;  Max  Spangler,  a  German- 
American  youth,  who  was  everybody's  friend; 
and  Will  Jackson,  always  called  "  Spud  "  because 
of  his  unusual  fondness  for  potatoes.  Spud  was 
a  great  story-teller,  and  some  of  his  yarns  were 
marvelous  in  the  extreme. 

During  their  first  term  at  Putnam  Hall,  the 
Rover  boys  had  become  well  acquainted  with 
Dora  Stanhope,  who  lived  near  the  school  with 
her  widowed  mother,  and,  also,  Nellie  and  Grace 
Laning,  Dora's  two  cousins,  who  resided  but  a 
short  distance  further  away.  It  had  not  been 
long  before  Dick  and  Dora  showed  a  great  liking 
for  each  other,  and,  at  the  same  time,  Tom  often 
"paired  off"  with  Nellie,  and  Sam  as  often 
sought  the  company  of  Grace.  Then  came  the 
time  when  the  boys  did  a  great  service  for  Mrs. 
Stanhope,  saving  her  from  the  wicked  plotting 
of  Josiah  Crabtree,  a  teacher  at  Putnam  Hall. 


18  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

Crabtree  was  exposed,  and  lost  no  time  in  leav 
ing  the  school,  threatening  at  the  same  time  that, 
sooner  or  later,  he  would  "  square  accounts  with 
the  Rovers." 

But  a  few  miles  away  from  Brill  College  was 
located  Hope  Seminary,  an  institution  for  girls. 
When  the  Rover  boys  went  to  Brill,  Dora,  Nel 
lie  and  Grace  entered  Hope,  so  the  young  folks 
met  almost  as  often  as  before.  A  term  at  Brill 
was  followed  by  an  unexpected  trip  Down  East, 
where  the  Rover  boys  again  brought  the  ras 
cally  Crabtree  to  terms.  Then  the  lads  became 
the  possessors  of  a  biplane,  and  took  several 
thrilling  trips  through  the  air.  About  this  time, 
Mr.  Anderson  Rover,  who  was  not  in  the  best  of 
health,  was  having  much  trouble  with  some 
brokers,  who  were  trying  to  swindle  him  out  of 
valuable  property.  He  went  to  New  York  City, 
and  disappeared,  and  his  three  sons  went  at  once 
on  the  hunt  for  him.  The  brokers  were  Pelter, 
Japson  &  Company,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
Dick  and  his  brothers  discovered  that  Pelter  and 
Japson  were  in  league  with  Josiah  Crabtree.  In 
the  end  the  boys  found  out  what  had  become  of 
their  parent,  and  they  managed  to  bring  the 
brokers  to  terms.  But,  during  a  struggle,  poor 
Tom  was  hit  on  the  head  by  a  wooden  footstool 
thrown  by  Pelter,  and  knocked  unconscious. 


TO   THE   RESCUE  19 

Josiah  Crabtree  tried  to  escape  from  a  garret 
window  by  means  of  a  rope  made  of  a  blanket 
This  broke,  and  he  sustained  a  heavy  fall,  break 
ing  a  leg  in  two  places.  He  was  taken  to  a 
hospital,  and  the  doctors  there  said  he  would  be 
a  cripple  for  life. 

"  There  is  no  use  in  talking,  Dad,"  Dick  had 
said  to  his  father,  "  you  are  not  in  a  fit  physical 
condition  to  take  hold  of  these  business  matters. 
You  had  better  leave  them  entirely  to  me."  And 
to  this  Mr.  Rover  had  agreed.  Then,  as  Dick 
was  to  leave  college  and  spend  most  of  his  time 
in  New  York,  it  had  been  decided  that  he  and 
Dora  should  get  married.  There  had  followed 
one  of  the  grandest  weddings  the  village  of 
Cedarville  had  ever  seen. 

The  blow  on  Tom's  head  proved  more  serious 
than  was  at  first  anticipated.  Through  it  the 
poor  lad  suddenly  lost  his  mind,  and  while  in 
that  state  he  wandered  away  from  Brill  College, 
•and  went  on  a  long  journey,  as  related  in  detail 
in  the  volume  preceding  this,  entitled  "The 
*Rover  Boys  in  Alaska." 

As  their  father  was  too  ill  to  take  part  in  any 
search  for  the  missing  one,  Dick  and  Sam  took 
{up  the  hunt,  and  after  many  thrilling  adventures 
on  the  ice  and  in  the  snow,  managed  to  locate 
their  brother  and  bring  him  back  home. 


20          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"And  now,  Tom,  you  must  take  a  good  long 
rest,"  his  kindly  Aunt  Martha  had  said,  and  she 
had  insisted  upon  it  that  he  be  put  under  the  care 
of  a  specialist.  Tom  had  rested  for  several 
months,  and  then,  declaring  that  he  felt  as  good 
as  ever,  had  returned  to  Brill.  Sam  was  already 
in  the  grind,  and  soon  Tom  was  doing  his  best 
to  make  up  for  the  time  he  had  lost  on  his  strange 
trip. 

Of  course,  Nellie  Laning  had  been  very  much 
worried  over  Tom's  condition,  and  his  disappear 
ance  had  caused  her  intense  dismay.  Since  he 
had  returned  to  Brill,  she  had  asked  that  he  either 
call  on  her  or  write  to  her  at  least  once  a  week. 
Tom  preferred  a  visit  to  letter- writing,  and  as 
Sam  was  usually  ready  to  go  to  Hope  to  see 
Grace  whenever  the  opportunity  afforded,  the 
brothers  usually  took  the  trip  together,  as  in  the 
present  instance. 

Searchlight  in  hand,  the  Rover  boys  peered  out: 
over  the  surface  of  the  swiftly-flowing  rivar, 
which  at  this  point  was  about  seventy-five  feet 
wide.  The  bridge  was  built  in  three  sections, 
and  it  was  the  middle  span  which"  had  collapsed 
at  the  farther  en'd,  so  that  trie  automobile  had 
plunged  into  water  which"  was  at  least  eight  feet: 
deep. 

''Do  you  see  anything  of  him?"  asked  Sam, 


TO   THE  RESCUE  21 

eagerly,  as  the  rays  from  the  light  flashed  in  one 
direction  and  then  in  another. 

"If  he  managed  to  get  out  of  the  auto,  per 
haps  he  floated  down  with  the  current,"  respond 
ed  his  brother.  "Anyhow,  he  doesn't  seem  tc 
be  around  here." 

"Maybe  he  was  caught  under  the  wheel.  If 
so,  we  had  better  get  him  out  without  delay." 

"  Look !  Look ! "  And  now  Tom  pointed 
down  the  river.  There  in  the  moonlight,  both 
boys  saw  a  form  coming  to  the  surface.  The 
fellow  was  beating  the  water  wildly  with  his 
hands,  and  now  he  set  up  a  frantic  cry  for  aid. 
Turning  the  searchlight  in  that  direction,  the 
Rover  boys  left  the  vicinity  of  the  broken  bridge, 
and  made  their  way  down  to  something  of  a 
footpath  that  ran  along  the  water's  edge.  Tom 
was  in  the  lead.  Here  and  there  the  bushes  hung 
over  the  stream,  and  both  lads  had  to  scramble 
along  as  best  they  could. 

"Help!  Help!"  The  cry  came  faintly,  and 
then  the  two  boys  saw  the  fellow  in  the  water 
throw  up  both  arms  and  sink  from  view. 

"  He  has  gone  under ! "  gasped  Sam.  "  Hurry 
tup,  Tom,  or  we'll  be  too  late ! " 

Scrambling  wildly  through'  tfie  last  of  the 
bushes  and  onto  some  flat  rocks  that,  in  this 
vicinity,  ran  out  into  the  river,  the  Rover  boy? 


22  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS. 

soon  gained  a  point  which  was  less  than  four 
yards  from  where  the  unfortunate  youth  had 
disappeared.  Leading  the  way,  Tom  leaped  from 
one  flat  stone  in  the  stream  to  another.  Sam 
followed  closely,  holding  the  searchlight  on  the 
spot  where  both  hoped  the  fellow  in  the  water 
might  reappear. 

"  Here  he  is !  "  cried  Tom.  And,  as  he  spoke, 
Sam  saw  a  dark  object  turn  over  in  the  stream 
close  to  the  rock  on  which  his  brother  had  leaped. 
The  next  instant  Tom  was  down  on  his  knees 
and  feeling  through  the  water. 

"  Hold  my  hand,  Sam,"  said  the  older  Rover. 
And  as  Sam  took  his  left  hand,  Tom  clutched 
•with  his  right  the  coat  of  the  party  in  the  river. 
Then  came  a  hard  pull ;  and  a  moment  later  Tom 
had  the  dripping  form  on  the  rock. 

"  Is  he — he — dead  ?  "  questioned  Sam,  hoarsely. 

"  I  don't  think  so,  but  he  certainly  has  had  a 
close  call.  We  must  get  him  ashore  and  work 
over  him  as  soon  as  possible.  You  light  the 
way;  I  think  I  can  carry  him  alone." 

The  fellow  who  had  been  hauled  out  of  the 
river  was  a  slightly-built  youth,  not  over  twenty 
years  of  age.  As  Tom  was  both  big  and  mus 
cular,  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  throw: 
the  stranger  over  his  shoulder.  Sam  led  the  way 
to  the  shore,  keeping  the  light  down  on  the  rocks 


TO   T&E  RESCUE  2$ 

so  that  his  brother  might  be  sure  of  his  footing. 

Once  safe,  the  boys  placed  the  stranger  on  the 
grass  and  started  to  work  over  him.  He  was  un 
conscious,  and  had  evidently  swallowed  consid- 
,erable  water.  Fortunately,  the  lads  had  taken 
lessons  in  how  to  resuscitate  a  person  who  had 
been  close  to  drowning,  so  they  knew  exactly 
what  to  do. 

"  It's  a  mighty  lucky  thing  that  we  were  here 
to  aid  him,"  remarked  Sam,  as  he  and  Tom  pro 
ceeded  with  their  efforts.  "  Another  minute,  and 
it  would  have  been  all  up  with  this  poor  fellow." 

"  Well,  he  isn't  out  of  the  woods  yet,  Sam,  but 
J  think  he  is  coming  around."  And  even  as  Tom 
spoke  the  stranger  gave  a  gasp  and  a  groan,  and 
tried  to  sit  up. 

"  It's  all  right,  my  friend,"  cried  Sam,  reas 
suringly.  "  We've  got  you,  you  are  safe." 

"  Oh,  oh ! "  moaned  the  young  man  who  had 
been  so  close  to  drowning.  And  then  as  he  sat 
up  and  stared  at  the  brothers,  he  added :  "  Did— • 
did  you  sa — save  me?" 

"Well,  we  hauled  you  out  of  the  river,"  re 
plied  Tom,  simply. 

"  You  did !  "  The  young  man  shivered  as  ht 
glaaced  at  the  swiftly-flowing  stream.  "The 
bridge — it  was  broken,  but  I  didn't  notice  it  in 
time." 


24  THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  We  tried  to  warn  you,"  said  Sam,  "  but  you 
were  coming  too  fast." 

"  I  know  it,  but  I — I "  And  then  the  young 

man,  having  tried  to  get  to  his  feet,  suddenly 
collapsed  and  became  unconscious  again. 

"  Phew !  "  came  from  Sam  in  surprise.  "  He 
must  be  worse  off  than  we  thought." 

"  Perhaps  he  got  struck  when  he  went  down," 
suggested  Tom.  "  See  here,  there  is  blood  ori 
his  hand ;  it  is  running  down  his  sleeve ! " 

"  Maybe  his  arm  is  broken,  Tom.  I  guess  the 
best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  get  him  to  some  doc 
tor." 

"Why  not  take  him  right  down  to  Ashton  to 
Doctor  Havens?  " 

"Good  idea;  we'll  do  it." 

Tom  again  took  up  the  unconscious  young 
man,  and,  with  Sam  leading  the  way,  both  hur 
ried  to  their  automobile.  The  stranger  was  de 
posited  on  the  seat  of  the  tonneau,  and  then  Tom 
lost  no  time  in  turning  the  machine  around  and 
Heading  for  town. 

"  I  wonder  who  he  can  be  ?  "  remarked  Sam 
as  they  sped  along. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  was  Tom's  reply 
Neither  of  the  boys  dreamed  of  the  surprise  in 
store  for  them. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOMETHING  OF  A  SURPRISE 

IT  did  not  take  the  Rover  boys  long  to  reach 
Ashton;  and  once  in  town,  they  lost  no  time  in 
running  their  auto  to  where  Doctor  Havens  re 
sided.  They  found  the  house  well  lit  up,  and  the 
old  doctor  in  his  study,  poring  over  some  medical 
works. 

"Saved  a  fellow  from  drowning,  eh?"  he 
queried,  after  the  lads  had  explained  matters. 
"  Got  him  out  in  your  auto  ?  All  right,  bring 
him  right  in  if  you  want  to — or  wait,  I'll  go  out 
and  take  a  look  at  him.  Maybe  I  know  who  he 
is  and  where  he  belongs."  And  thus  speaking, 
the  doctor  went  outside. 

Sam  still  had  the  searchlight  in  hand,  and  as 
the  physician  approached  the  automobile,  the  lad 
flashed  tfie  rays  on  the  face  of  the  stranger,  who 
was  still  unconscious. 

"  Why,  I've  seen  that  young  chap  before !  *'  ex 
claimed  Doctor  Havens.  "  He  is  stopping  at  th«» 

2$ 


26  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

hotel.     I  saw  him  there  only  this  afternoon." 

"Then  perhaps  we  had  better  take  him  over 
there,"  suggested  Tom. 

"  By  all  means,  and  I'll  go  with  you." 

Running  into  the  house,  the  doctor  procured 
his  hand  case,  and  then  joined  the  boys  in  the 
automobile.  A  run  of  a  few  minutes  brought 
the  party  to  the  hotel,  and  Sam  and  Tom  lifted 
the  young  man  out  and  carried  him  inside. 

The  arrival  of  the  party  created  some  conster 
nation,  but  as  only  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel 
and  a  bellboy  were  present,  the  matter  was  kept 
rather  quiet.  The  young  man  had  a  room  on  the 
second  floor,  and  to  this  he  was  speedily  taken, 
and  placed  in  the  care  of  the  doctor. 

"  No  bones  broken  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain," 
said  Doctor  Havens,  after  a  long  examination. 
"  He  has  cut  his  forehead,  and  he  also  has  a 
bruise  behind  his  left  ear,  but  I  think  he  is  suf 
fering  more  from  shock  than  anything  else." 

"Did  you  say  you  knew  him?"  questioned 
Tom. 

"  Oh,  no,  only  that  I  had  seen  him  around  this 
hotel." 

"  What  is  his  name?  "  asked  Sam,  of  the  hotel 
proprietor,  who  had  followed  them  to  the  room. 

"  His  name  is  Pelter." 

"  Pelter ! "    The  cry  came  from  Tom  and  Sam 


SOMETHING   OF  A  SURPRISE  27 

simultaneously,  and  the  brothers  looked  at  each 
other  questioningly. 

"Yes,  Pelter.    Do  you  know  him?" 

"  What  is  his  first  name?  "  demanded  Tom. 

"  Why,  let  me  see "    The  hotel  man  mused 

for  a  moment.     "  I  have  it !    Barton  Pelter." 

"  I  never  heard  that  name  before,"  said  Tom. 

"We  know  a  man  in "    And  then,  as  Sam 

looked  at  him  in  a  peculiar  way,  he  added,  "  Oh, 
•veil,  never  mind.  We  don't  know  this  fellow, 
anyway.  I  hope  he  gets  over  this  trouble." 

By  this  time  the  sufferer  had  again  recovered 
consciousness,  but  he  was  evidently  very  weak, 
and  the  doctor  motioned  for  the  Rover  boys  and 
the  hotel  man  to  leave  the  room. 

"  All  right,  but  let  us  know  in  the  morning  by 
telephone  how  he  is,  Doctor,"  returned  Tom ;  and 
then  the  Rover  boys  and  the  hotel  man  went 
below. 

"  Can  you  tell  us  anything  about  this  Barton 
Pelter?"  questioned  Sam,  of  the  proprietor. 

"  I  know  very  little  about  him,  excepting  that 
he  is  registered  as  from  Brooklyn,  and  that  he;' 
came  here  three  days  ago.  What  his  business  is! 
in  Ashton,  I  haven't  the  least  idea." 

"  Is  he  well  off — that  is,  does  he  appear  to  have 
much  money?"  asked  Tom. 

"Oh,  he  hasn't  shown  any  great  amount  of 


28  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

cash  around  here,"  laughed  the  hotel  man.  "  My 
idea  is  that  he  is  some  sort  of  a  commercial 
traveler,  although  he  hasn't  anything  with  him 
but  his  suitcase." 

This  was  all  the  hotel  man  could  tell  them,  and 
a  few  minutes  later  the  Rover  boys  were  in  their 
automobile  once  more  and  headed  back  for  the 
scene  of  the  accident. 

"We  ought  to  have  put  up  some  danger  sig 
nal,  Tom,"  remarked  Sam,  while  on  the  way. 

"  I  know  it,  but  we  hadn't  any  time  to  waste 
while  we  had  that  poor  chap  on  our  hands.  By 
the  way,  do  you  think  he  can  be  any  relative  of 
Jesse  Pelter,  the  rascal  who  knocked  me  out  with 
the  footstool,  and  who  tried  his  best  to  rob 
dad?" 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  One  thing  is  cer* 
tain :  The  name  of  Pelter  is  not  common.  Still, 
there  may  be  other  Pelters  besides  those  related 
to  that  scoundrel  of  a  broker." 

Arriving  at  the  vicinity  of  the  broken  bridge, 
the  boys  found  a  farmer  with  a  wagon  there. 
The  countryman  was  placing  some  brushwood 
across  the  road. 

"  The  blame  bridge  is  busted  down,"  said  the 
farmer,  "and  I  thought  I  ought  to  put  up  some 
kind  of  a  thing  to  warn  folks  of  it." 

"  That  is  what  we  came  for,"  answered  Sam ; 


SOMETHING   OF  A  SURPRISE  29 

and  then  he  and  his  brother  related  some  of  the 
particulars  of  what  had  occurred. 

"  Gee,  shoo !  You  don't  mean  to  tell  me  that 
one  of  them  automobiles  is  down  in  the  river!" 
gasped  the  countryman.  "  I  don't  see  nothin'  of 
it." 

"  It  must  be  down  on  the  bottom,  close  to 
where  that  end  of  the  bridge  settled,"  answered 
Sam.  "  I  suppose  there  will  be  a  job  here  for 
somebody  to  haul  it  out." 

"If  they  want  a  man  for  that,  I'm  the  feller 
to  do  it,"  returned  the  countryman.  "  Maybe  I 
had  better  go  down  to  the  hotel  and  see  about  it.'* 

"Better  wait  till  morning,"  suggested  Tom. 
"The  young  man  who  owns  the  machine  can't 
see  anyone  now." 

"All  right,  just  as  you  say." 

"Now  that  this  bridge  is  down,  how  can  we 
get  over  the  river?  "  mused  Sam. 

"  Where  do  you  want  to  go  ?  " 

"We  were  on  our  way  to  Hope  Seminary.  I 
suppose  we  can  go  around  to  the  Upper  Road, 
but  it  will  be  four  or  five  miles  out  of  our  way." 

"  It  ain't  necessary  to  go  that  far.  You  go 
down  stream  about  half  a  mile  on  the  Craberry 
Road,  and  you  can  cross  The  Shallows." 

"  Isn't  it  too  deep  for  an  automobile  ?  "  ques 
tioned  Tom. 


30          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"No,  not  now.  It  might  be,  though,  in  wet 
weather." 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Sam,  and 
shook  his  head.  "  We  don't  want  any  accident 
!  in  the  water,  Tom." 

"  Oh,  come  ahead,  we  can  try  it,  anyway,"  re 
turned  Tom,  who,  in  spite  of  the  recent  happen 
ings,  was  as  anxious  as  ever  to  get  to  the  semi 
nary  and  see  Nellie. 

Leaving  the  countryman  at  his  self-appointed 
task  of  putting  a  barrier  across  the  road — and 
he  had  said  that  he  would  also,  get  over  to  the 
other  side  of  the  river  somehow  and  put  a  bar 
rier  there — the  Rover  boys  swung  around  once 
again  in  their  touring  car,  and  headed  for  the 
side  road  which  had  been  mentioned  to  them. 
Soon  they  reached  what  was  known  as  "The 
Shallows,"  a  spot  where  the  river  broadened  out, 
and  was  filled  with  loose  stones  and  sandbars. 

By  the  rays  from  the  headlights,  which  they 
now  turned  on  to  their  fullest  extent,  the  car 
was  guided  into  the  water.  At  the  edge,  they 
saw  several  tracks  made,  undoubtedly,  by  wagons, 
,  and  one  track  evidently  made  by  the  anti-skid 
tires  of  an  automobile. 

"Well,  if  one  auto  got  through,  we  ought  to 
be  able  to  make  it,"  remarked  Tom,  grimly. 

"  Better  take  it  on  low  gear."  suggested  Ki& 


SOMETHING   OF  A  SURPRISE  31 

brother.     "We  can't  see  in  this  water,  and  we 
may  go  down  in  a  hole  before  we  know  it." 

Slowly  and  cautiously,  Tom  guided  the  ma 
chine  along,  trying  to  keep  as  much  as  possible, 
to  the  high  points  of  the  various  sandbars  which 
ran  in  a  diagonal  direction  to  the  stream  itself. 
Once  or  twice  they  bumped  over  some  rather 
large  stones,  and  once  they  went  into  a  hollow 
which  was  somewhat  deeper  than  expected,  but, 
with  it  all,  they  managed  to  keep  the  working 
parts  of  the  car  above  the  surface  of  the  stream, 
and  inside  of  five  minutes  found  themselves  safe 
and  sound  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  headed  for 
another  side  road  which  joined  the  main  highway 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond. 

"  I  am  mighty  glad  we  are  out  of  that,"  re 
marked  Sam,  as  they  left  the  rather  uneven  side 
road  and  came  out  on  the  smooth  highway.  "  I 
must  say,  I  don't  like  autoing  in  the  water." 

"  Pooh,  that  wasn't  so  bad ! "  replied  Tom. 
"  But  it  would  be,  I  think,  after  a  heavy  storm, 
when  the  river  was  swollen.  It  must  be  getting 
late,"  he  added.  "  Better  speed  her  up  a  little,  or 
we'll  get  to  Hope  just  in  time  to  say  'good-' 
night,' "  and  he  smiled  grimly. 

Fortunately  for  the  boys,  there  was  very  little 
traveling  that  night.  They  met  but  two  wagons 
and  one  automobile;  and  these  on  straight 


32  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

stretches  of  the  road  where  there  was  little  dan 
ger  of  collision.  Tom  was  now  running  at 
thirty-five  to  forty  miles  an  hour,  and  this  was 
'rather  dangerous  where  the  highway  curved,  and 
where  what  was  ahead  was  partly  hidden  by 
trees  and  bushes. 

"  Here  we  are  at  last ! "  cried  Tom,  presently, 
as  they  came  in  sight  of  Hope  Seminary,  a  fine 
collection  of  buildings  nestling  in  a  pretty  grove 
of  trees.  All  the  dormitory  windows  showed 
lights,  and  there  was  also  a  light  in  the  reception 
parlor  of  the  main  building,  for  which  the  lads 
were  thankful. 

"  Give  'em  the  horn,  Tom,"  suggested  Sam. 

"  Sure !  I  was  only  waiting  to  get  a  little 
closer,"  was  the  answer,  and  then,  as  the  auto 
mobile  turned  into  the  seminary  grounds  and  ran 
along  the  road  leading  up  to  the  main  entrance, 
Tom  sounded  the  horn  in  a  peculiar  fashion,  a 
signal  which  had  been  arranged  between  the  boys 
and  the  girls  long  before. 

"Tom!" 

"Sam!" 

The  cries  came  from  two  girls  dressed  in  white, 
who  had  been  seated  on  a  rustic  bench  near  a 
small  fountain.  Now,  as  Tom  brought  the  car  to 
a  quick  stop,  the  girls  hurried  forward. 

"  Hello,  here  we  are  again !  "  sang  Tom,  mer- 


SOMETHING  OF  A  SURPRISE  33 

rily,  and  leaping  to  the  ground  he  caught  Nellie 
Laning  by  both  hands.    "  How  are  you?  " 

"  Oh,  I  am  pretty  well,  Tom." 

"And  how  are  you,  Grace?  "  came  from  Sam,^ 
as  he,  too,  left  the  automobile. 

"  Oh,  Sam,  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come ! " 
cried  Grace  Laning.  "  Nellie  and  I  have  been 
waiting  for  you." 

"Well,  we  are  glad  we  are  here.  We  have 
had  quite  an  adventure  to-night." 

"  Oh,  did  you  have  a  breakdown  ?  "  questioned 
Grace,  anxiously. 

"No,  but  we  had  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  a 
fellow  who  ran  into  the  river." 

"  Oh,  dear !  Troubles  never  seem  to  come 
singly,"  sighed  Nellie. 

"  What  do  you  mean ! "  demanded  Tom, 
quickly.  "  Is  something  wrong  here  ?  " 

"  Indeed  there  is,  Tom ! "  answered  Grace. 
And  then,  with  a  look  at  her  older  sister,  who 
had  turned  her  face  away,  she  continued :  "  I 
think  it  is  a  shame!  If  it  was  not  that  it  would 
make  it  look  as  if  Nellie  were  guilty,  we  would 
pack  up  at  once  and  leave  this  place." 

"  Why,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  came  from  both 
of  the  Rovers. 

"  Oh,  Grace,  perhaps  you  had  better  not  tell 
them,"  cried  Nellie,  with  almost  a  sob. 


34  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Nellie!"  And  now  Tom  caught  the  girl 
lightly  in  his  arms.  "  What  has  happened  ?  " 

"I— I— can't  tell!"  sobbed  the  girl.  "Grace 
will  tell  you." 

"  I  don't  suppose  it  is  necessary  to  go  into  all 
the  details,"  said  Grace,  "  but  the  long  and  short 
of  it  is,  that  Nellie  is  suspected  of  stealing  a 
four-hundred-dollar  diamond  ring." 

"What!"  ejaculated  Tom. 

"  It  was  this  way,  Tom,"  pursued  Grace.  "  One 
of  the  teachers  here,  a  Miss  Harrow,  who  assists 
the  seminary  management  by  keeping  some  of  the 
books,  had  a  diamond  ring  said  to  be  worth  four 
hundred  dollars  placed  in  her  possession  by  a 
Miss  Parsons,  another  teacher.  It  seems  that 
Miss  Parsons  had  an  eccentric  old  aunt,  who 
wished  to  give  the  seminary  some  money,  and  so 
turned  over  the  ring,  to  be  converted  into  cash. 
This  ring  Miss  Harrow  left  on  her  desk  in  the  of 
fice.  Nellie  went  into  the  office  to  see  the  teacher, 
but  finding  no  one  there,  came  away.  Then  Miss 
Harrow  came  back  a  few  minutes  later,  and  found 
the  diamond  ring  gone.  She  at  once  made  in 
quiries,  but  as  she  could  find  nobody  who  had  been 
'in  the  office  after  Nellie  had  left,  she  called  Nellie 
in  and  wanted  her  to  tell  what  had  become  of  the 
piece  of  jewelry." 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING 

''DlD  you  see  this  ring,  Nellie?"  questioned 
Tom,  after  a  painful  pause. 

"Why,  yes,  it  was  lying  in  the  middle  of  a 
flat-top  desk,"  responded  the  girl,  wiping  her  eyes 
with  her  handkerchief. 

"  Didn't  somebody  go  into  the  office  after  you 
were  there  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  Tom.  In  fact,  nobody  seems 
to  know." 

"  I  was  in  the  office  with  another  girl  about 
five  minutes  before  Nellie  went  there,"  came  from 
Grace.  "  I  saw  the  ring  there,  too,  and  I  thought 
it  was  very  foolish  to  leave  it  so  exposed.  Why, 
anybody  could  have  run  off  with  it." 

"  It  certainly  was  careless,"  put  in  Sam. 

"Miss  Harrow  said  she  was  on  the  point  of 
putting  it  in  the  safe  when  she  was  called  by 
'phone  to  one  of  the  other  buildings.  She  had  a 
dispute  to  settle  between  some  of  the  hired  help, 
and  she  did  not  think  of  the  ring  until  some  time 
later.  Then,  so  she  says,  she  rushed  back  to  the 
office  to  find  it  missing." 

35 


36          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Well,  I  think  it  is  a  shame  that  she  accused 
Nellie,"  said  Tom,  stoutly  and  with  something 
of  a  savage  look  in  his  eyes.  "  Nellie,  if  I  were 
you,  I  wouldn't  stand  for  it" 

"  She — she  hasn't  accused  me,  exactly,"  re 
turned  the  suffering  girl.  "But  she  intimated 
that  I  must  have  taken  the  ring,  so  it's  just  as 
bad." 

"  What  does  the  seminary  management  have  to 
say  about  it?"  asked  Sam. 

"  They  seem  to  think  it  lies  between  Nellie  and 
the  teacher,"  answered  Grace. 

"  In  that  case,  how  do  we  know  the  teacher 
didn't  take  the  ring  herself?"  broke  in  Tom, 
quickly. 

"  Oh,  do  you  think  that  possible  ?  "  questioned 
Nellie,  in  surprise. 

"  It's  more  reasonable  to  think  she  took  it  than 
you  did.  Anyway,  she  hasn't  any  right  to  accuse 
you,"  went  on  Tom,  bluntly. 

"  As  I  said,  Tom,  she  hasn't  accused  me — that 
is,  openly;  but  I  know  what  she  thinks,  and  T 
know  what  she  will  make  others  think,"  returnee1 
Nellie.  And  now  she  showed  signs  of  bursting 
into  tears  again.  "  Oh,  I  feel  as  if  I  must  pack 
up  and  go  home ! " 

"Don't  you  do  it,  Nellie.  That  would  maV? 
it  look  as  if  you  were  guilty.  You  stay  here  and 


A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING  37 

face  the  music."  Then,  as  Nellie  began  to 
cry  again,  Tom  took  her  in  his  arms  and  held 
her  tightly. 

"  Come  on ! "  said  Sam,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice. 
,**!  think  some  people  at  the  window  are  listen 
ing."  And  he  led  the  way  to  a  distant  portion  of 
the  seminary  grounds.  After  that,  Grace  told  all 
she  knew  of  the  miserable  affair,  and  Nellie  re 
lated  just  how  she  had  seen  the  diamond  ring  on 
the  teacher's  desk. 

"  Was  the  window  open  at  the  time  ?  "  ques 
tioned  the  older  Rover  boy. 

"  If  I  remember  rightly,  the  window  was  tight 
shut,"  replied  Nellie. 

"Yes,  it  was  shut  when  I  was  in  the  office," 
put  in  Grace.  "  I  have  been  trying  to  think  out 
some  way  by  which  the  ring  could  have  disap 
peared,  but  without  success." 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  some  time,  and 
then  the  girls  questioned  the  boys  regarding  the 
happening  at  the  broken  bridge.  Nellie,  and 
Grace  also,  wanted  to  know  the  latest  news  from 
Dick  and  Dora. 

"  So  far  as  I  know,  Dora  is  in  fine  health  and 

"enjoying  herself  in  the  city,"  said  Tom.     "But 

Dick  is  having  his  hands  full,  and  I  rather  think 

that,  sooner  or  later,  I'll  have  to  pack  up  and  go 

to  his  assistance." 


38  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Then  you'll  leave  Brill  for  good?"  ques 
tioned  Nellie. 

"  I  think  so.  I  can't  be  breaking  in  on  my 
college  course  every  now  and  then  as  I  have  been 
doing,  and  pass  my  examinations.  More  than 
that,  I  begin  to  believe  that  I  was  not  cut  out  for 
a  college  man.  I  am  like  Dick;  I  prefer  a  busi 
ness  career  rather  than  a  professional  one.  It 
is  Sam  who  is  going  to  make  the  learned  one  of 
the  family." 

"  Oh,  come  now,  Tom !  Don't  pile  it  on ! " 
pleaded  the  younger  brother.  And  yet  he  looked 
greatly  pleased;  and  Grace  looked  pleased,  too. 

"  But  if  you  leave  Brill,  you  won't  be  able  to 
get  here  very  often,  Tom,"  remarked  Nellie,  wist 
fully. 

"That  is  true.  But  if  I  have  to  go  to  New 
York,  why  can't  you  go,  too  ?  " 

"Oh,  Tom!" 

"  Well,  that  is  what  Dora  did  when  Dick  gave 
up  his  college  career.  I  think  the  folks  under 
stand " 

Just  then  a  bell  in  the  tower  of  the  main  semi 
nary  building  began  to  clang  loudly.  At  the  firs. 
stroke  both  girls  started. 

"  There  goes  the  first  bell ! "  cried  Grace.  "  We 
must  go." 

"  Oh,  hang  the  bell ! "  muttered  Tom,  and  then, 


A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING  39 

as  Grace  ran  towards  the  building,  with  Sam 
beside  her,  he  once  more  caught  Nellie  by  the 
hand, 
i     "  Now  say,  Nellie,  don't  you  think " 

"  Oh,  Tom,  I  must  get  in  before  the  second 
bell  rings !  "  pleaded  Nellie. 

"  Yes,  but  won't  you  promise " 

"  How  can  I  promise  anything,  Tom,  with  this 
affair  of  the  missing  ring " 

"  Missing  ring !  You  don't  suppose  for  one 
minute  that  that  is  going  to  make  any  difference 
to  me,  do  you?" 

"  Oh,  no,  Tom.  I  know  you  too  well  for  that." 
And  now  Nellie  gave  him  a  look  that  thrilled  him 
through  and  through.  "  But  I  think  I  ought  to 
clear  my  name  before — before  I  do  anything 
else." 

"  All  right.  I  suppose  it  has  got  to  be  as  you 
say,"  returned  Tom,  hopelessly.  "  But  listen !  If 
they  make  any  more  trouble  for  you,  promise  me 
that  you  will  let  me  know." 

"All  right,  Tom,  I  will."  And  then,  after 
Tom  had  stolen  a  quick  kiss,  Nellie  hastened  her 
steps,  and  a  few  seconds  later  she  and  her  sister 
disappeared  within  the  building. 

"Do  you  know  what  I'd  like  to  do,  Sam?" 
muttered  Tom,  as  the  brothers  turned  away  from 
the  seminary  grounds  in  the  automobile.  "  I'd 


10  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

like  to  wring  that  Miss  Harrow's  neck!     What 
right  has  she  to  accuse  Nellie?" 

"  No  right  at  all,  Tom.  But  one  thing  is  cer 
tain,  the  ring  must  be  missing.  I  don't  think  that 
the  teacher  had  anything  to  do  with  taking  it. 
They  don't  have  that  sort  here." 

"  Possibly  not.  At  the  same  time,  to  my  mind 
it  is  far  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  she  took 
it  than  that  Nellie  had  anything  to  do  with  it," 
declared  Tom,  stoutly. 

"If  the  window  was  closed  down,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  ring  must  have  been  taken  by  some 
body  in  the  building,"  pursued  Sam,  thoughtfully. 
"  Perhaps  one  of  the  hired  help  did  it." 

"  Maybe."  Tom  gave  a  long  sigh.  "  I  cer 
tainly  hope  they  clear  the  matter  up  before  long. 
I  shall  be  very  anxious  to  hear  from  the  girls 
about  it." 

As  the  young  collegians  had  received  permis 
sion  to  be  out  after  hours,  they  did  not  attempt 
to  take  the  short  cut  through  The  Shallows  on 
returning  to  Brill.  Instead,  they  went  around  by 
another  road,  over  a  bridge  that  was  perfectly 
safe. 

"  It's  not  so  late,  after  all,"  remarked  Sam,  as 
they  entered  their  room.  "  Perhaps  I  had  better 
finish  that  th'eme." 


A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING  41 

"  Oh,  finish  it  in  the  morning,"  returned  Tom, 
with  a  yawn.  "  You'll  feel  brighter." 

"All  right,"  answered  Sam,  who  felt  sleepy 
himself;  and  a  few  minutes  later  the  brothers 
retired. 

The  next  morning  found  Sam  at  work  on  the 
theme  long  before  the  hour  for  breakfast.  Tom 
was  also  up,  and  said  he  would  take  a  walk 
around  the  grounds  to  raise  an  appetite. 

"As  if  you  needed  anything  of  that  sort,'* 
grinned  Sam.  "  The  first  thing  you  know,  you'll 
be  eating  so  much  that  the  college  management 
will  be  charging  you  double  for  board." 

Down  on  the  campus,  Tom  ran  into  Songbird 
•and,  a  few  minutes  later,  William  Philander 
Tubbs.  Songbird,  as  usual,  had  a  pad  and  pencil 
in  his  hand. 

"  Composing  verses,  I  suppose,"  remarked 
Tom.  "  What  have  you  got  now?  " 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  so  very  much,"  returned  Song 
bird,  hesitatingly.  "  It's  a  little  poem  I  was  writ 
ing  about  dogs." 

"  Dogs !  "  chimed  in  William  Philander.  "  My 
gracious  me!  What  sort  of  poetry  can  you  get 
up  about  dogs?  I  must  confess,  I  don't  like  them. 
Unless,  of  course,  they  are  the  nice  little  lap- 
dog  kin'd." 


42  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  This  isn't  about  a  lap-dog,  exactly,"  returned 
Songbird.  "  It's  about  a  watchdog." 

"  Um !  By  the  way,  Songbird,  haven't  the  San 
dersons  a  new  watchdog?" 

"  Yes."    And  now  Songbird  reddened  a  little. 

"  Well,  let  us  have  the  poem,  anyway.  I  love 
dogs,  and  some  poetry  about  them  ought  to  run 
along  pretty  good." 

Thereupon,  rather  hesitatingly,  Songbird  held 
up  his  writing-pad  and  read  the  following: 

"  The  sun  sinks  low  far  in  the  west — 
The  farmer  plodeth  home  to  rest, 
The  watchdog,  watching  in  the  night, 
Assures  him  ev'ry  thing  is  right." 

"  Fine !  "  cried  Tom.  "  Real,  dyed-in-the-wool 
poetry  that,  Songbird.  Give  us  some  more.'* 
And  then  the  would-be  poet  continued: 

"  The  sun  comes  up  and  it  is  morn, 

The  farmer  goes  to  plow  his  corn, 
The  watchdog,   watching  through  the  day, 
Keeps  ev'ry  tramp  and  thief  away." 

And  be  it  night  or  be  it  day " 

"The  watchdog's  there,  and  there  to  stayl" 

continued  Torn,  and  then  on; 

"The  watchdog,  watching  in  his  sleep, 

Catches  each  flea  and  makes  him  weep!" 

"  Catching  fleas   indeed !  "   interrupted   Song- 


A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING  43 

bird.  "Now,  Tom,  I  didn't  have  any  fleas  in 
this  poem." 

"  But  all  dogs  have  fleas,  Songbird — they  own 
them  naturally.  You  wouldn't  deprive  a  poor, 
innocent  dog  of  his  inheritance,  would  you?" 

"  But,  Tom,  see  here " 

"  But  I  wanted  to  say  the  poem  couldn't  be 
better,"  went  on  the  fun-loving  Rover.  "Why 
don't  you  send  it  to  some  of  the  dog  journals? 
They  would  be  sure  to  print  it." 

"  Dog  journals ! "  snorted  the  would-be  poet. 
"  Do  you  think  I  write  for  such  a  class  of  publi 
cations  as  that?" 

"  Well,  you  might  do  worse/'  responded  Tom, 
coolly.  "  Now,  for  a  first-class  journal,  they 
ought  to  pay  you  at  least  a  dollar  a  foot." 

"  Oh,  Tom,  you  are  the  worst  ever ! "  mur 
mured  Songbird,  as  he  turned  away.  A  few 
minutes  later,  Tom  saw  him  sit  down  on  a  bench 
to  compose  verses  as  industriously  as  ever. 

"  I  think  I  must  be  going,"  said  William  Phi 
lander,  who  had  listened  to  Songbird's  effort 
without  making  any  comment. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  my  dear  Billy,  I  want '' 

"  Now,  Tom,  please  don't  call  me  Billy,"  plead 
ed  the  dudish  student. 

"  Oh,  all  right,  Philly.  I  was  just  going  to 
ssiy 


44          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Now,  Tom,  Philly  is  just  as  bad  as  Billy,  if 
not  worse.  You  know  my  name  well  enough." 

"All  right,  Tubblets.  If  you  prefer  any  such 
handle  to  the  tub,  why  I " 

"  Tom,  if  you  are  going  to  talk  that  way,  I'll 
really  have  to  leave  you,  don't  you  know,"  cried 
William  Philander.  "  I  am  not  going  to  stand  for 
it  any  longer.  I  have  told  you  at  least  a  hun 
dred  times " 

"  No,  not  a  hundred  times,  not  more  than 
sixty-eight  times  at  the  most,"  interrupted  Tom. 

"  Well,  I've  told  you  enough  times,  anyway, 
Tom.  So  if  you " 

"  Don't  say  another  word,  or  you'll  make  me 
weep,"  said  Tom,  and  drew  down  his  face  sob 
erly.  "  Why,  my  dear  fellow,  I  wouldn't  hurt 
your  feelings,  not  for  the  world  and  a  big  red 
apple  thrown  in.  But  what  I  was  going  to  say 
was  this:  Are  you  going  to  play  on  our  base 
ball  team  this  Spring?  Somebody  said  you  were 
going  to  pitch  for  us,"  and  Tom  looked  very 
much  in  earnest. 

"Me  pitch  for  you?"  queried  William  Phi 
lander.  "Why,  who  told  you  such  a  story  as 
that?" 

"  It's  all  over  college,  Tubbs,  all  over  college. 
You  must  be  practicing  pitching  in  private." 

"  But  I  don't  know  a  thing  about  pitching.    In 


A  FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR  RING  45 

fact,  I  don't  know  much  about  baseball,"  pleaded 
the  dudish  student." 

"  Oh,  come  now,  Tubbs — you  can't  fool  me. 
Most  likely  you  have  been  practicing  in  private, 
and  when  you  come  out  on  the  diamond  you  will 
astonish  everybody.  Well,  I  am  glad  to  know 
that  Brill  College  is  really  to  have  a  first-class 
pitcher  at  last.  We  need  it  if  we  are  going  to 
win  any  baseball  games. 

"  Now,  Tom,  I  tell  you  that  I  don't  know " 

"  Oh,  you  can't  fool  me,  William,"  declared 
Tom,  positively.  "  I  got  the  information  straight, 
and  I  know  it  is  absolutely  correct.  You  are 
booked  as  the  head  pitcher  for  Brill  this  season." 
And  thus  speaking,  Tom  turned  on  his  heel  and 
walked  off,  leaving  William  Philander  Tubbs 
much  perplexed. 


CHAPTER  V 

THREE  LETTERS 

A  NEW  idea  had  entered  Tom's  mind,  and  he 
lost  no  time  in  carrying  it  out.  Meeting  Bob 
Grimes  and  Stanley  Browne,  he  drew  them 
quickly  to  one  side  and  mentioned  the  talk  he 
had  had  with  William  Philander. 

"  Now,  carry  it  along,"  he  concluded.  "If  you 
do  it  properly,  we'll  have  a  barrel  of  fun  out  of 
it." 

"  Right  you  are ! "  returned  Bob,  and  Stanley 
winked  knowingly.  Then  Tom  hurried  off,  to 
interview  several  others  of  the  students,  princi 
pally  those  who  were  interested  in  the  Brill  base 
ball  nine. 

Just  before  the  bell  rang  for  breakfast,  Wil 
liam  Philander  found  himself  confronted  by  Bob, 
who  shook  hands  cordially.  "This  is  the  best 
news  yet,  William,"  said  the  baseball  leader, 
heartily.  "  I  have  been  wondering  what  we  were 
going  to  do  for  a  pitcher  this  season." 

"Yes,  it's  all  to  the  merry,"  put  in  Stanley, 
who  had  come  up  with  Bob.  "  But  tell  us  pri- 

46 


THREE  LETTERS  47 

vately,  William,  are  you  going  to  depend  on  a 
straight  ball  and  speed,  or  are  you  going  to  give 
them  some  curves  and  fadeaways  ?  " 

"Now,  see  here!"  spluttered  the  dudish  stu 
dent.  "  I  am  not  a  baseball  pitcher,  and  I  want 
you  to " 

"Oh,  William,  don't  try  that  game  on  us!" 
burst  out  Stanley.  "We  know  that  you  have 
been  practicing  pitching  for  the  past  two  months ; 
that  you  took  lessons  from  one  of  the  greatest 
ball  twirlers  in  the  Western  League.  Of  course, 
we  understand  that  you  wanted  to  surpise  us ;  and 
I  must  confess,  it  is  a  surprise." 

"But  a  mighty  agreeable  one,"  came  from 
Spud,  who  had  joined  the  crowd,  while  Tom 
hovered  behind  William  Philander,  grinning 
broadly  over  what  was  taking  place.  "  Brill  has 
wanted  a  really  great  pitcher  for  years.  Of 
course,  we  have  won  some  victories  with  ordi 
nary  pitchers,  but  the  moment  I  heard  that  you 
had  taken  to  twirling  the  sphere,  I  said  to  all  my 
friends :  '  This  is  the  year  that  Brill  is  going  to 
come  out  on  top.'  My  dear  Tubbs,  I  think  we 
ought  to  get  down  on  our  knees,  and  thank  you 
for  doing  this  much  for  our  college.  I  am  sure 
the  board  of  directors,  when  they  hear  of  this, 
will  certainly  give  you  a  vote  of  thanks,  because 
success  in  baseball  and  other  athletic  sports  is 


48  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

what  makes  a  college  in  these  days.  And  you  are 
taking  up  the  sport  in  such  a  thoroughly  syste 
matic  manner " 

"  Oh,  my  dear  fellow ! "  pleaded  William  Phi 
lander,  frantically.  "This  is  all  some  dreadful 
mistake,  don't  you  know.  How  it  came  about,  I 
can't  imagine,  but  I  haven't " 

"  It's  no  use,  fellows.  He  simply  won't  ac 
knowledge  it  yet,"  broke  in  another  student. 

"We'll  have  to  wait  until  he  comes  out  on 
the  diamond  in  his  new  uniform,"  added  still 
another. 

"  Anyway,  William,  you  might  tell  us  whether 
you  are  going  to  use  a  straight  ball  or  a  curve 
and  the  fadeaway,"  pleaded  Stanley. 

"He  is  going  to  keep  that  a  secret,  so  as  to 
fool  our  opponents,"  broke  in  Tom.  "  And  he'll 
fool  them  all  right  enough,  you  can  depend  on 
W.  P.  Tubbs  every  time." 

"  Three  cheers  for  W.  P. ! "  cried  Spud.  "  Now 
•then,  boys,  altogether:  W.  P.,  the  champion 
pitcher  of  Brill  College ! " 

A  cheer  and  a  yell  rent  the  air,  and  brought  a 
great  number  of  other  students  to  that  part  of  the 
campus.  In  a  twinkling,  William  Philander  was 
completely  surrounded. 

"What's  it  all  about?" 

"Is  it  a  fight?" 


THREE  LETTERS  49 

"Who  are  they  cheering?" 

"  It's  all  about  Mr.  W.  P.  Tubbs,  Esq.,"  cried 
Tom,  loudly.  "  Our  new,  double  back-action, 
warranted,  baseball  twirler ;  the  man  who  is  going 
to  shoot  'em  over  the  plate  in  such  a  marvelous 
fashion  that  our  rivals  will  go  down  and  out  in 
one,  two,  three  order." 

At  this  announcement,  a  great  hubbub  arose 
On  all  sides. 

"Tubbs!  is  he  a  baseball  pitcher?" 

"  I  didn't  know  he  knew  a  thing  about  base 
ball." 

"  That  dude  launching  a  fadeaway  ?  That  gets 
me!" 

"  Where  did  he  learn  to  pitch  ?  " 

"  Who  put  him  on  the  team?  " 

"Say,  Tubbs,  explain  this,  won't  you?"  This 
last  remark  came  from  four  students  in  uni 
son. 

"You  let  me  out  of  this!"  cried  the  dudish 
student  in  despair.  "It's  all  some  horrid  joke! 
I  am  not  going  to  pitch !  I  don't  know  anything 
about  pitching!  I  don't  know  hardly  anything 
about  baseball!  I  don't  want  to  play!  Why, 
when  a  fellow  falls  down  running  around  the 
bases,  he  is  apt  to  get  all  dirty!  You  let  me  out 
of  this!"  And  so  speaking,  William  Philander 
Tubbs  pushed  his  way  out  of  the  crowd,  and 


50  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

fairly  ran  for  the  nearest  of  the  school  build 
ings. 

"  I  guess  that  will  hold  W.  P.  for  a  while," 
'swas  Tom's  comment,  as  the  tall  student  vanished. 

"  Good  joke,  Tom !  "  returned  Bob. 

*  What's  the  matter  with  keeping  it  up?" 
added  Spud.  "  Don't  let  him  know  the  truth. 
Maybe  some  day  we  can  drag  him  out  on  the 
diamond." 

"  All  right,"  answered  Tom.  "  I'll  do  it ;"  and 
then,  as  the  bell  rang  for  breakfast,  all  of  the 
students  hurried  inside. 

Some  days  passed,  and  during  that  time  the 
Rover  boys  waited  anxiously  for  some  news  from 
their  brother  Dick,  and  also  for  word  from  Hope 
Seminary.  In  the  meantime,  the  lads  had  settled 
down  to  the  usual  grind  of  college  life,  and  were 
doing  as  well  as  could  be  expected  considering  the 
interruptions  their  studies  had  suffered. 

The  Rover  boys  had  already  learned  that  the 
bridge  across  the  Paxton  River  had  been  repaired. 
The  automobile,  which  had  gone  into  the  stream, 
had  been  found  intact,  only  needing  some  clean 
ing  to  make  it  once  more  useable.  It  had  been 
taken  to  the  hotel  garage.  The  young  man,  who 
had  been  thrown  into  the  stream  at  the  time,  was 
still  in  bed  under  the  doctor's  care.  Evidently, 


THREE  LETTERS  51 

the  shock  to  his  system  had  been  more  severe  than 
had  been  at  first  supposed. 

"Letters  at  last!"  cried  Tom,  on  the  third 
morning,  as  he  came  in,  holding  up  several  epis 
tles.  One  was  from  Grace,  another  from  Nellie, 
and  still  a  third  from  Dick. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  boys  opened 
the  letters  from  the  girls  first. 

"  Nothing  new  in  this,"  remarked  Tom,  some 
what  disappointedly,  after  having  read  what  Nel 
lie  had  written.  "  She  says  that  the  diamond  ring 
has  not  yet  been  found,  and  that  everything  is  at 
a  standstill  concerning  it." 

"  Grace  says  practically  the  same  thing,"  re 
turned  Sam.  "  She  adds  that  Nellie  is  very  much 
downcast,  and  she  thinks  that,  while  her  friends 
all  stand  by  her,  some  of  the  girls  are  giving  her 
the  cold  shoulder." 

"  It's  an  outrage !  Oh,  Sam,  I  wish  I  could 
do  something !  "  And  unable  to  control  his  feel 
ings,  Tom  clenched  his  hands  and  began  to  pace 
the  floor. 

"  It  certainly  is  the  meanest  thing  I  ever  heard 
,of,  Tom.  But  I  don't  see  what  we  can  do.  In 
fact,  I  don't  see  what  anybody  can  do.  The  semi 
nary  management  must  have  made  a  thorough 
v  investigation,  and  if  they  haven't  discovered  any- 


52  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

thing,  I  don't  see  how  an  outsider  can  solve  the 
mystery." 

"  Maybe  they  ought  to  shadow  some  of  the 
hired  help,  or  something  like  that." 

"They  may  be  doing  that,  Tom.  They  cer 
tainly  won't  let  a  four-hundred-dollar  ring  get 
away  from  them  without  making  the  biggest  kind 
of  an  effort  to  find  out  where  it  went.  But  open 
that  letter  from  Dick,  and  see  what  he  has  to 
say." 

The  communication  was  torn  open,  and  Tom 
glanced  over  it  hastily. 

"  Here's  a  surprise,  Sam,"  he  cried.  "  Well, 
what  do  you  know  about  this ! "  And  he  read  as 
follows : 

"  I  have  something  of  a  surprise  for  you.  In 
coming  to  a  settlement  with  Pelter,  Japson  & 
Company,  they  notified  me  that  they  were  going 
out  of  business  in  New  York  City.  Pelter  claims 
that  our  exposing  the  firm  practically  ruined  them, 
and  at  the  present  time  there  is  still  due  father  a 
matter  of  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  which 
they  seem  unable  to  pay.  Both  Pelter  and  Jap- 
son  have  offered  to  turn  over  to  us  the  entire 
contents  of  their  offices  in  Wall  Street,  along 
with  their  lease.  I  don't  think  the  outfit  is  worth 
the  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  but  when  you  can't 


THREE   LETTERS  53 

get  all  that  is  coming  to  you,  the  next  best  thing 
is  to  take  what  you  can  get.  I  am  writing  to 
father  about  this,  and  if  he  agrees  with  me,  I 
shall  take  the  lease  of  the  offices,  and  also  the 
outfit,  which  includes  several  desks,  chairs,  a 
safe  and  a  filing  cabinet.  Pelter  says  the  outfit 
was  new  two  years  ago,  so  that  it  is  in  quite 
good  condition. 

"  Dora  sends  her  best  regards.  As  you  know, 
we  are  now  installed  in  our  suite  at  the  Outlook 
Hotel,  and  she  spends  quite  some  of  her  time 
shopping  and  looking  around  the  city.  I  have 
gone  out  with  her  a  few  times,  but  spend  most 
of  my  time  in  straightening  out  these  financial 
matters,  and  in  taking  care  of  father's  other  in 
vestments.  Mr.  Powell,  the  lawyer,  is  assisting 
me  to  unravel  the  tangle,  but  it  is  hard  work,  and 
I  often  wish  that  one  or  both  of  you  were  here 
to  help  me.  Remember  me  to  all  the  boys  and 
likewise  to  Grace  and  Nellie. 

"  By  the  way,  I  understand  that  Josiah  Crab- 
tree  is  soon  to  leave  the  hospital.  His  leg  was 
so  badly  broken  that  he  will  have  to  walk  with 
either  a  crutch  or  a  couple  of  canes.  In  one 
way,  I  feel  sorry  for  the  old  fellow,  but  he 
brought  the  accident  on  himself.  What  a  shame 
that  a  man  with  his  education  couldn't  have  re 
mained  honest  and  straightforward. 


54  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"As  I  said  above,  Pelter,  Japson  &  Company; 
are  going  to  give  up  business  here.  Just  the  same, 
I  don't  like  Pelter's  actions  at  all.  I  think  he  is 
a  bad  one  through  and  through — much  worse 
than  Japson — who  is  more  weak  than  wicked.  I 
am  going  to  keep  my  eyes  open  whenever  Pelter 
is  around." 

Both  boys  read  this  communication  from  Dick 
with  deep  interest.  Then  Sam  read  the  letter  a 
second  time  and  looked  thoughtfully  at  Tom. 

"  I  don't  think  Dick  is  having  any  easy  time  of 
it,"  was  his  sober  comment. 

"Just  what  I  have  been  thinking  all  along, 
Sam.  When  Dick  says  he  wishes  he  had  one  or 
both  of  us  with  him,  he  means  it.  Just  as  soon 
as  the  college  term  comes  to  a  close,  I  am  going 
to  New  York." 

"  Well,  I'll  go  with  you,"  returned  Sam.  "  I 
did  think  we  might  go  on  some  kind  of  an  outing 
during  July  and  August,  but  it  wouldn't  be  fair 
to  take  the  time  off  and  leave  Dick  at  the  grind 
alone." 

"  Of  course,  I  think  we  ought  to  go  home  first," 
continued  Tom,  after  a  pause.  "The  folks  will 
want  to  see  us,  and,  besides,  we  will  want  to 
talk  matters  over  with  dad,  and  also  with  Uncle 


THREE  LETTERS 


55 


Randolph.  They  may  want  to  tell  us  something 
about  the  business." 

"  Do  you  think  that  Uncle  Randolph  had  much 
money  invested  with  father?" 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  what  to  think,  Sam. 
Uncle  Randolph  is  very  peculiar,  and  since  father 
has  been  sick  again,  he  has  not  wanted  to  talk 
matters  over  very  much.  We  will  have  to  be 
careful  of  what  we  say  when  we  get  home.  It 
won't  do,  so  the  doctor  said,  to  excite  him  too 
much." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that  as  well  as  you  do.  In  fact, 
it  might  be  best  not  to  mention  business  to  dad 
at  all.  You  must  remember  that  this  is  the  third 
breakdown  he  has  had  since  we  came  to  Brill,  and 
another  such  turn  might  prove  serious." 

"  Oh,  don't  talk  like  that !  It  makes  me  shiver 
to  think  of  it.  What  in  the  world  would  we  do 
if  anything  happened  to  poor,  dear  dad ! " 

"  If  only  Uncle  Randolph  was  more  of  a  busi 
ness  man,  he  might  go  to  New  York  and  help 
Dick ;  but  you  know  how  he  is  all  wrapped  up  in 
what  he  calls  'scientific  farming.'  Of  course,  it 
doesn't  amount  to  a  hill  of  beans,  but  he  thinks 
it  does,  and  he  spends  a  great  deal  of  money  on 
it  that  might  be  put  to  better  usage." 

"  Well,  it's  his  own  money,  you  must  remem- 


56          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

her,  and  he  has  a  right  to  do  what  he  pleases 
with  it.  But  for  gracious  sake !  don't  get  him  to 
go  to  New  York.  It  would  only  mix  up  matters 
worse  than  ever.  Dick  would  not  only  have  to 
take  care  of  the  business,  but  he  would  also  have- 
to  take  care  of  Uncle  Randolph.  Besides,  it 
wouldn't  be  fair  to  leave  Aunt  Martha  to  look 
after  dad,  alone."  And  there,  for  the  time  being, 
the  talk  on  personal  matters  came  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER  VI 

BASEBALL  TALK 

WITH  so  many  other  affairs  to  claim  our  atten 
tion,  I  have  purposely  avoided  going  into  the  de 
tails  of  the  baseball  season  at  Brill  that  year.  As 
my  old  readers  know,  the  college  had  a  baseball 
nine  and  a  football  eleven,  and  both  had,  at  vari 
ous  times,  done  well  at  one  sport  or  the  other. 

This  particular  year,  baseball  matters  had  not 
gone  as  well  as  had  been  expected.  In  the  first 
place,  several  of  the  best  players  on  the  nine  had 
graduated  the  year  before  and  left  the  college. 
Then  had  come  a  long  wet  spell,  during  which 
time  only  some  indoor  practice  in  the  gymnasium 
could  be  attempted.  Thus,  at  the  opening  of  the 
season,  the  nine  possessed  four  players  who  had 
hitherto  played  only  on  the  scrub,  and  the  whole 
team  lacked  the  practice  that  was  essential  to 
success.  The  most  serious  loss  was  in  the  bat 
tery,  both  the  pitcher  and  catcher  of  the  year  pre 
vious  having  left  the  college.  Bob  Grimes,  who 
played  at  shortstop,  was  the  captain,  and  after  a 

57 


58  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

good  many  tryouts,  he  had  put  Spud  Jackson  in 
as  catcher.  For  pitcher,  there  were  three  candi 
dates:  a  lad  named  Bill  Harney,  who  was  a  tall 
junior;  a  much  smaller  chap  who  had  come  from 
Yale,  named  Dare  Phelps;  and  Tom,  who  had 
been  pushed  forward  by  a  number  of  his  friends. 
Tom  had  thought  to  pay  strict  attention  to  his 
studies  for  the  remainder  of  the  term,  but  finally 
agreed  to  accept  the  position  if  it  was  offered  to 
him. 

"  I  think  you  are  going  to  make  it,  Tom,"  said 
Songbird  one  day  after  Tom  had  been  pitching 
on  the  regular  team  against  Bill  Harney,  who  had 
been  pitching  on  the  scrub.  Tom  had  managed  to 
hold  the  scrub  down  to  three  hits,  while  Harney 
had  allowed  fourteen  hits,  one  of  which  had  been 
turned  by  the  batter  into  a  home  run. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  about  that,"  replied  Tom. 
"  Harney  isn't  so  bad.  He  had  a  little  ill  luck 
to-day,  that's  all.  And  then,  don't  forget  Phelps." 

"  I'm  not  forgetting  either  of  them.  Just  the 
same,  I  think  you  are  going  to  make  the  nine." 

The  next  day,  Tom  was  put  in  as  pitcher  on 
the  scrub,  while  Dare  Phelps  occupied  the  box' 
for  the  regular  nine.  For  the  first  six  innings,  it 
was  a  nip-and-tuck  battle  between  the  two  pitch 
ers.  But  from  that  time  on,  Dare  Phelps  seemed 
to  go  to  pieces,  while  Tom  struck  out  man  after 


BASEBALL   TALK  59 

man.  As  a  result,  the  score  at  the  end  of  the 
game  stood  4  to  10  in  favor  of  the  scrub. 

"  Tom,  I  think  that  settles  it ! "  cried  his  broth 
er,  as  he  rushed  up  and  took  the  other  by  the 
shoulder.  "You  certainly  held  them  down  in 
great  shape." 

"  And  say,  didn't  the  scrub  bang  Phelps  all  over 
the  diamond !  "  broke  in  another  student.  "  My, 
he  must  feel  pretty  sore ! "  And  evidently  this 
was  true,  because  a  minute  later  Dare  Phelps  left 
the  diamond  and  disappeared  from  view.  Nearly 
everybody  in  the  college  had  watched  the  games 
between  the  scrub  and  the  regular  nine;  and  that 
night  the  concensus  of  opinion  seemed  to  be  that 
Tom  ought  to  pitch  for  the  regular  team. 

"  You'll  have  to  do  it,  Tom,"  said  Bob  Grimes, 
when  he  called  on  the  older  Rover  in  the  morn 
ing.  "  Phelps  acknowledges  that  you  are  a  better 
pitcher  than  he  is,  and  I  think  Bill  Harney  will 
have  to  do  the  same." 

"  Better  wait  and  see  how  I  pitch  in  one  o£ 
the  regular  games,"  returned  Tom,  modestly. 
"  For  all  you  know,  I  may  go  to  pieces." 

"  Nonsense,  Tom !  I  know  you  too  wrell  for 
that,"  and  Bob  grinned  broadly.  "We'll  show 
Roxley  College  this  year  what  we  can  do." 

Every  year  there  were  two  contests  between 
Brill  and  Roxley,  a  rival  college  located  .some 


60          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

miles  away.     One  contest  was  at  baseball,  and 

the  other  football.     During  the  past  Fall,  Rox- 

ley  had  suffered  its  second  defeat  on  the  gridiron 

•at  the  hands  of  Brill.    But  the  Spring  previous, 

j  its  baseball  nine  had  literally  "  wiped  up  the  dia- 

*  mond "  with  Brill  by  a  score  of  6  to  o.     My 

readers  can,  therefore,  well  imagine  how  anxious 

the  baseball  management  was  to  win  the  game 

scheduled  to  come  off  in  about  a  week. 

Since  returning  to  college  from  his  trip  to  New 
York,  and  then  the  longer  trip  to  Alaska,  Sam 
had  given  almost  his  entire  time  to  his  studies. 
He  was  quite  a  baseball  player,  but  he  felt  that 
to  play  on  the  regular  team  would  take  too  much 
of  his  time. 

"If  you  are  going  to  leave  college  this  June, 
it  won't  make  so  much  difference  whether  you  pass 
with  flying  colors  or  not,  Tom,"  he  said.  "  But 
if  I  am  to  return  in  the  Fall,  I  want  to  make  sure 
that  I  am  not  going  to  do  so  under  conditions." 

"But,  Sam,  I  don't  see  why  you  can't  play  a 
game  or  two,"  persisted  Tom.  "  It  doesn't  seem 
natural  for  you  to  keep  out  of  it  altogether." 

"  Well,  I  have  played  some  on  the  scrub." 

"Oh,  I  know,  but  that  isn't  like  going  in  for 
the  regular  thing.  You  could  be  on  the  regular 
team  if  you  really  wanted  to." 

This  matter  was  talked  over  several  times,  but 


BASEBALL  TALK  6l 

Sam  refused  to  be  entirely  persuaded.  He,  how 
ever,  finally  agreed  to  go  on  the  bench  as  a  sub 
stitute,  provided  Bob  would  not  ask  him  to  play 
any  inside  position.  By  a  toss-up,  it  had  been 
decided  that  the  game  should  take  place  on  the 
Roxley  grounds.  As  a  consequence,  the  boys  of 
Brill  and  their  friends  would  have  to  go  to  the 
other  college  either  by  train  from  Ashton,  or  in 
automobiles  or  some  other  kinds  of  convey 
ances. 

"Of  course,  we'll  take  the  girls,  Tom,"  said 
Sam,  in  talking  the  matter  over.  "We  can  go 
over  to  Hope  in  the  auto  for  them,  and  I  think 
it  would  be  nice  if  we  took  Songbird  along  and 
stopped  at  the  Sanderson  cottage  for  Minnie." 

"  All  right,  that  suits  me,"  replied  Tom,  "  Let 
us  ask  Songbird  about  it." 

Of  course  the  would-be  poet  was  delighted,  and 
he  at  once  sent  a  note  to  Minnie,  asking  her  to 
be  ready  when  the  auto  arrived.  The  girls  at 
Hope  were  communicated  with  over  the  telephone. 

"  I'm  afraid  it's  going  to  rain,"  said  Spud,  on 
the  evening  before  the  great  game  was  to  takei 
place.  And  Spud  was  right  By  nine  o'clock  it 
was  raining  steadily. 

"  Just  our  confounded  luck ! "  muttered  Song 
bird,  as  he  paced  up  and  down  the  room  which 
he  and  half  a  dozen  others  were  occupying. 


62          THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Now,  I  suppose  that  game  and  our  nice  auto 
ride  will  be  all  knocked  in  the  head." 

"  Don't  worry  so  early,"  returned  Sam,  cheer 
fully.  "  I  don't  think  this  is  anything  more  than 
a  shower,  and  we  need  that  to  lay  the  dust."  Sam 
proved  to  be  right,  for  before  some  of  the  boys 
retired,  the  rain  had  stopped  coming  down,  and 
one  by  one  the  stars  began  to  appear.  In  the 
morning,  the  sun  came  up  as  bright  as  ever,  and 
by  ten  o'clock  the  ground  was  as  dry  as  any  one 
could  wish.  The  day  was  a  Saturday,  and,  of 
course,  a  holiday  both  at  Brill  and  Roxley.  By 
eleven  o'clock,  a  carryall  had  taken  a  large  num 
ber  of  the  students  to  Ashton,  where  they  were 
to  take  a  special  train  for  Roxley.  All  of  the 
automobiles  at  Brill  were  in  use,  and  with  them 
all  of  the  turnouts  that  could  be  hired  in  the  vicin 
ity. 

"  No  time  to  spare ! "  sang  out  Tom,  as  he  ran 
the  automobile  up  to  the  college  steps. 

"  I  am  ready,"  said  Sam,  who  had  a  dresssuit 
case  with  Tom's  uniform  and  his  own  in  it. 

"Where  is  Songbird?" 

"  I  don't  know,  I  thought  he  was  with  you." 

" Here  I  am! "  came  the  cry,  and  the  would-be 
poet  of  the  college  came  rushing  across  the  cam 
pus.  He  was  dressed  in  his  very  best  suit,  and 
wore  a  rose  in  his  buttonhole. 


BASEBALL   TALK  63 

"Wait!  I  almost  forgot  the  horns!"  cried 
Sam,  and  he  darted  back  into  the  building,  to  re 
appear  a  few  seconds  later  with  several  long  tin 
horns.  Into  the  automobile  piled  the  boys,  and 
then,  with  a  laud  sounding  of  the  horn,  Tom 
turned  on  the  power,  and  the  machine  started  off 
in  the  direction  of  Hope,  soon  reaching  the  spot 
where  the  automobile  had  gone  into  the  river. 

"  That  poor  chap  didn't  hurt  his  machine  much, 
so  I  have  heard,"  remarked  Sam,  as  they  bowled 
along  over  the  bridge.  "But,  I  think  it  might 
have  been  better  if  he  had  come  out  of  it  scott 
free,  and  the  auto  had  gone  to  pieces." 

"  We  ought  io  call  on  him,  Sam,"  returned 
Tom.  "  I  would  like  to  find  out  whether  or  not 
he  is  related  to  Jesse  Pelter." 

"  Oh,  don't  bfither  about  that  to-day.  Let  your 
mind  rest  on  tl/s  game — and  the  girls,"  and  Sam 
grinned  faintly. 

The  run  to  the  seminary  did  not  take  long. 
The  Laning  girls  stood  waiting  on  the  porch,  and 
once  they  were  in  the  car,  the  machine  was  headed 
sn  the  direction  of  the  Sanderson  cottage. 

Nellie  occupied  the  front  seat  with  Tom,  while 
Sam  was  in  the  tonneau  with  Grace  and  Song 
bird.  The  younger  girl  was  in  her  usual  happy 
mood,  but  Nellie's  face  showed  worriment. 

"  Have  you  heard  anything  more  about  the 


64  THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

missing  ring?"  questioned  Tom,  while  on  the 
way  to  the  Sanderson  farmhouse. 

"  Not  a  thing,  Tom,"  answered  Nellie,  soberly. 

"Of  course  they  have  questioned  the  hired 
help?" 

"  Yes.  And  they  have  also  questioned  a  num 
ber  of  the  teachers  and  the  students." 

"  Has  Miss  Harrow  said  anything  more  about 
it  to  you?" 

"  No,  but  every  time  we  meet,  she  gives  me 
such  a  cold  look  that  it  fairly  makes  me  shiver. 
Oh,  Tom,  sometimes  I  don't  know  how  I  am 
going  to  stand  it ! "  And  now  the  girl  showed 
signs  of  breaking  down. 

"  There,  there !  Don't  think  about  it  any  more, 
Nellie — at  least,  for  to-day.  Think  of  the  jolly 
good  time  we  are  going  to  have  and  how  we  are 
going  to  defeat  Roxley." 

"Do  you  think  Brill  will  win,  Tom?  I  heard 
some  of  the  girls  at  Hope  say  that  they  were  sure 
Roxley  would  come  out  ahead.  They  said  they 
have  an  unusually  strong  nine  this  year,  and  that 
they  have  already  won  some  games  from  the 
strongest  nines  around  here." 

"  Well,  that  is  true.  Nevertheless,  we  hope  to 
come  out  ahead." 

"  Sure  we'll  come  out  ahead ! "  cried  Song 
bird.  "  With  Tom  in  the  box  it's  a  cinch." 

"  Just  what  I  say,"  broke  in  Sam.    "  Tom  has 


BASEBALL  TALK  65 

got  some  curves  that  are  bound  to  fool  them." 

In  order  to  make  time,  Tom  had  put  on  nearly 
all  the  speed  of  which  the  car  was  capable,  and 
in  a  short  while  they  came  in  sight  of  the  San 
derson  farm.  Mr.  Sanderson  was  at  work  in  an 
apple  orchard  near  by,  and  waved  his  hand  to 
them  as  the  machine  drew  up  to  the  horse-block. 

"  Better  come  along,"  sang  out  Sam,  gaily. 

"  I  wouldn't  mind  a-seein'  the  game,"  returned 
the  old  farmer.  "  But  I've  promised  to  pick  these 
early  apples  and  ship  'em.  I  wish  you  boys  luck." 
And  then  he  brought  over  a  pail  full  of  apples, 
and  dumped  them  in  the  tonneau  of  the  car. 
Minnie,  looking  as  fresh  and  sweet  as  ever,  was 
on  the  piazza,  and  when  the  car  stopped  she  hur 
ried  down  the  garden  walk.  Songbird  leaped  out 
and  helped  her  in  beside  Grace,  shaking  hands  at 
the  same  time. 

"Good  gracious,  Pa!  how  could  you  do  so?" 
said  Minnie,  reproachfully,  as  she  stepped  between 
the  apples. 

"  Oh,  I  thought  as  how  ye  might  git  hungry 
on  th'  way,"  returned  Mr.  Sanderson,  with  a 
broad  grin.  "  If  ye  don't  want  to  eat  them,  you 
feed  your  hosses  on  *em."  And  he  laughed  at 
his  little  joke. 

"We'll  eat  them  fast  enough,  don't  worry," 
cried  Sam,  and  then,  with  a  toot  of  the  horn, 
the  automobile  proceeded  on  its  way  to  Roxley. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME 

"  SOME  crowd,  this ! " 

"  Well,  I  should  say  so !  Say,  this  is  the  big 
gest  crowd  we  ever  had  at  any  game." 

"  And  look  at  the  new  grandstand,  all  decked 
out  in  flags  and  banners !  " 

"  And  look  at  the  automobiles !  We'll  have  to 
hurry  up,  or  all  the  parking  space  will  be  gone." 

"  Hurrah,  Brill !  Come  down  here  to  see  us 
defeat  you,  eh  ?  "  And  a  merry  looking  student, 
wearing  the  colors  of  Roxley  on  his  cap,  and 
waving  a  Roxley  banner  in  his  hand,  grinned 
broadly  at  Tom  and  the  others. 

"  No,  we  came  to  bury  you,"  retorted  Sam. 
"  It's  all  over  but  the  shouting."  And  then  he 
took  up  one  of  the  horns  he  had  brought,  and 
sounded  it  loudly. 

"  Better  let  me  take  the  car  to  the  other  end  of 
'the  grounds,"  suggested  Songbird.    "  You  fellows 
will  want  to  get  into  your  uniforms  and  into  prac 
tice." 

"  Oh,  we  want  to  get  good  seats  for  the  girls 
66 


"I'VE  GOT  TO    DO    IT,"    MCTTSBSa   TOM,    '*l'VE  SIMPLY  GOT   TO  I" 

The  Rover  Boys  in  Businett. 


THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME  67 

first,"  broke  in  Tom.  "It  won't  take  long  to 
park  the  machine." 

In  a  moment  more,  they  found  themselves  in  a 
perfect  jam  of  touring  cars,  motor  cycles,  and  car 
riages.  Finding  a  suitable  spot,  Tom  brought  the 
touring  car  to  a  standstill,  turned  off  the  power, 
and  placed  the  starting  plug  in  his  pocket.  Then 
the  entire  party  made  its  way  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible  to  the  grandstand,  one-half  of  which  had 
been  reserved  for  the  students  of  Brill  and  their 
friends.  Here  Songbird  took  charge  of  matters. 

"  Just  leave  it  all  to  me,"  he  said.  "  You  fel 
lows  go  in  and  win." 

"  Yes,  you  must  win,  by  all  means,  Tom ! " 
cried  Nellie.  "Just  remember  that  I've  got  my 
eye  on  you." 

"Yes,  we  all  want  you  to  win,"  came  from 
Minnie  Sanderson.  "  I  am  going  to  root — isn't 
that  the  right  word? — for  all  I  know  how." 

"  That's  the  word ! "  cried  Sam.  "  I  declare, 
before  you  get  through,  you'll  be  a  regular  base 
ball  fan !  "  'And  at  this  sally  there  was  a  general 
laugh. 

Tom  and  Sam  would  have  liked  it  had  they 
been  able  to  stay  with  the  girls  longer,  but  the 
other  members  of  the  team  were  already  in  the 
dressing  room,  donning  their  uniforms,  and 
thither  the  Rovers  made  their  way.  A  short 


68  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

while  later,  the  word  was  passed  around,  and 
the  Brill  team  marched  out  on  the  grounds  for 
practice;  even  Sam,  as  a  substitute,  taking  part. 
Evidently,  the  outsiders  living  in  that  vicinity 
were  of  the  opinion  that  the  game  would  be  well 
worth  seeing,  for  long  after  the  grandstand  and 
the  bleachers  were  filled,  the  crowd  kept  coming 
in  the  several  gates. 

"  My,  but  this  is  going  to  be  the  banner  game 
so  far  as  attendance  goes,"  remarked  Sam  to  Bob. 

"Yes,  and  it  will  bring  us  in  a  neat  bit  of 
money,"  returned  the  Brill  captain. 

"  How  are  they  going  to  divide  this  year?  " 

"  One-third  and  two-thirds,"  returned  Bob ; 
meaning  thereby  that  the  winning  team  would 
take  two-thirds  of  the  receipts,  and  the  losing 
team  the  remaining  third.  This  money,  of  course, 
did  not  go  to  the  individual  players,  but  was  put 
into  the  general  athletic  fund  of  each  college. 

Roxley  won  the  toss,  and  as  a  consequence, 
Brill  went  to  bat  first.  As  the  first  man  took  his 
position,  there  were  cries  of  all  sorts,  mingled 
with  the  tooting  of  many  horns  and  the  sounds/ 
of  numerous  rattles. 

"  Now  then,  Brill,  show  'em  what  you  can  do ! " 

"  Knock  a  home  run  first  thing !  " 

"  Don't  let  'em  see  first,  Roxley !  Kill  'em  at 
the  plate!" 


THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME  69 

The  Roxley  pitcher  took  his  position,  wound 
up;  and  the  ball  came  in  quickly. 

"  Ball  one." 

"That's  right!  Make  him  give  you  a  good 
one." 

Again  the  ball  came  in,  and  this  time,  as  it  was 
a  fairly  good  one,  the  batter  swung  for  it,  and 
missed. 

"  Strike  one." 

"That's  the  talk,  give  him  another  like  that, 
Carson ! " 

Again  the  ball  came  whizzing  over  the  plate. 
The  batsman  struck  it  fairly,  and  it  sailed  down 
toward  second  base.  The  runner  was  off  like  a 
shot,  but  it  availed  him  nothing.  The  second 
baseman  caught  the  fly  with  ease. 

"Hurray!  One  down!  Now  for  the  other 
two!" 

The  second  man  at  the  bat  went  out  in  one-two- 
three  order.  Then  the  third  player  up  knocked  a 
short  fly  to  first. 

"  Three  out.    That's  the  way  to  do  it,  Roxley ! " 

"  Now,  for  a  few  runs ! " 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Tom  was  a  trifle  nerv° 
*ous  when  he  took  the  bat!  and  walked  down  to 
the  box.  The  eyes  of  over  twelve  hundred  spec 
tators  were  on  him,  and  those  included  the  eyes 
of  the  girl  he  thought  the  dearest  in  all  the  world. 


He  gave  a  short  sigh,  and  then  suddenly  braced 
up.  "  I've  got  to  do  it,"  he  muttered  to  himself. 
"  I've  simply  got  to ! " 

As  was  to  be  expected,  Roxley  had  its  best 
batters  on  the  top  of  the  list.  The  first  fellow  to 
face  Tom  was  a  hitter  well-known  for  his  prow 
ess.  As  Tom  had  heard  that  this  man  loved  a 
low  ball,  he  purposely  sent  in  the  sphere  rather 
high. 

"  One  ball." 

"  That's  right,  Clink !  Make  him  give  you 
what  you  want." 

The  next  ball  was  intended  for  an  out-curve, 
but,  somehow,  Tom  missed  it,  and  it  came  in 
fairly  over  the  plate.  Crack!  The  bat  con 
nected  with  it,  and  away  the  sphere  sailed  to  cen 
ter  field. 

"  Run,  run !  "  The  cry  echoed  from  all  sides, 
and,  almost  in  a  twinkling,  Clink  was  down  to 
first,  and  racing  for  second.  Then,  feeling  that 
he  had  time  to  go  further,  he  bounded  onward, 
and  slid  safely  to  third. 

"That's  the  way  to  do  it!  Look,  a  three- 
bagger  ! " 

"  Hurray !  We've  got  them  on  the  run ;  keep 
it  up,  boys !  "  And  then  the  air  was  rent  with  the 
noise  of  horns  and  rattles. 

"  Steady,  Tom,  steady,"  whispered  Bob,  as  he 


THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAMS,  71 

[walked  toward  the  pitcher.     "Don't.  Jet  therii 
rattle  you;  take  your  time." 

"They  are  not  going  to  rattle  me,"  returned 
,Tom,  and  set  his  teeth  hard.  He  faced  the  new 
'batsman,  and  then,  of  a  sudden,  twirled  around 
and  sent  the  ball  whizzing  to  third. 

"Look  out!  look  out!"  yelled  the  coach  at 
third,  and  Clink  dropped  and  grabbed  the  sack 
just  in  the  nick  of  time.  Then  Tom  went  for  the 
batter.  One  strike  was  called,  and  then  two  balls, 
and  then  another  strike,  and  a  ball. 

"  Don't  walk  him,  Tom,  whatever  you  do,"  said 
Spud,  as  he  came  down  to  consult  with  the  pitcher. 

"All  right.  What  do  you  think  I  ought  to 
give  him?" 

"  Try  him  on  an  in-shoot." 

Once  again  Tom  sent  the  ball  over  to  third,  al 
most  catching  Clink  napping  as  before.  Then, 
the  instant  he  had  the  sphere  once  more  in  his 
possession,  he  sent  it  swiftly  in  over  the  plate. 

"  Three  strikes !    Batter  out !  " 

"  Good  for  you,  Rover !  That's  the  way  to  do 
it!" 

"  Now  kill  the  other  two,  Tom !  " 

But  to  "  kill  the  other  two  "  was  not  so  easy. 
The  next  man  went  out  on  a  pop  fly  to  third, 
(which  held  Clink  where  he  was.  Following  that 
came  a  safe  hit  which  took  the  batter  to  first  and 


?2  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

allowed  Clink  to  slide  in  with  the  first  run.  For 
the  moment  pandemonium  seemed  to  break  loose. 
The  Roxley  cohorts  cheered  wildly  and  sounded 
*heir  horns  and  rattles.  Brill,  of  course,  had 
nothing  to  say. 

"  Oh,  Songbird,  they  got  in  a  run ! "  remarked 
Nellie,  much  dismayed. 

"  Well,  the  game  is  young  yet,"  returned  the 
Brill  student.  Nevertheless,  he  felt  much  crest 
fallen  to  think  that  Roxley  had  scored  first. 

With  one  run  in,  and  a  man  on  first,  Roxley 
went  to  the  bat  with  more  confidence  than  ever. 
But  it  availed  nothing,  for  Tom  finished  the  in 
ning  with  the  Roxley  runner  getting  no  further 
than  second. 

"  Now,  boys,  we've  got  to  do  something,"  said 
the  Brill  captain,  when  the  nine  came  in.  "  Two 
runs  at  least,  and  three  if  we  can  possibly  get 
them." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  half  a  dozen,  while 
we  are  at  it?"  laughed  the  second  baseman. 

"  All  right.  As  many  as  you  please,"  returned 
Bob. 

But  it  was  not  to  be.  With  all  her  efforts, 
Brill  managed,  during  this  inning,  to  get  no  fur 
ther  than  third.  Tom  came  in  for  a  try  at  the 
bat,  but  the  best  he  could  do  was  to  send  up  a 
little  pop  fly  that  the  rival  pitcher  gathered  in 


THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME  73 

ease.  Then  Roxley  came  in  once  more,  and 
added  another  run  to  her  credit. 

"  Hurrah  for  Roxley !  That  makes  it  two  to 
nothing!" 

There  were  looks  of  grim  determination  on 
the  faces  of  the  Brill  players  when  they  went  to 
the  plate  for  the  third  time.  The  first  man  up 
was  struck  out,  but  the  second  sent  a  clean  drive 
to  left  field  that  was  good  for  two  bases.  Then 
came  a  sacrifice  hit  by  Spud,  that  advanced  the 
runner  to  third,  and  on  another  one-base  hit,  this 
run  came  in  amid  a  wild  cheering  by  the  Brill 
followers. 

"  Hurrah !  One  run  in !  Now,  boys,  you've 
broken  the  ice,  keep  it  up !  "  And  then  the  horns 
and  rattles  of  the  Brillites  sounded  as  loudly  as 
had  those  of  the  Roxley  followers  a  short  while 
before. 

But,  alas !  for  the  hopes  of  our  friends !  The 
only  other  run  made  that  inning  was  a  third  by 
Roxley ! 

During  the  fourth  inning,  Roxely  added  an- 
,  other  run  to  her  score.  Brill  did  nothing,  so  that 
the  score  now  stood  4  to  i  in  favor  of  Roxley. 
The  fifth  inning  was  a  stand-off,  neither  side  scor 
ing.  Then  came  the  sixth,  in  which  Frank  Hoi- 
den,  the  first  baseman,  distinguished  himself  by 
rapping  out  a  three-bagger,  coming  in  a  few  sec- 


J74  THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

onds  later  on  a  hit  by  the  man  following  him. 

"  Up-hill  work,  and  no  mistake ! "  said  the  Brill 
captain,  when  the  team  had  come  in  for  the  sev 
enth  inning. 

"  See  here,  Bob,  if  you  think  you  would  rather 
try  some  of  the  other  pitchers "  began  Tom. 

"  Nothing  of  the  sort,  old  man.  You  are  do 
ing  very  well.  I  don't  consider  four  runs  against 
two  any  great  lead.  And  you  haven't  walked  as 
many  men  as  their  pitcher." 

The  seventh  inning  brought  no  change  in  the 
score.  But  in  the  eighth,  Roxley  added  another 
run,  bringing  her  total  up  to  five. 

"Looks  kind  of  bad,"  said  Sam,  to  another 
substitute  on  the  bench.  "  Five  to  two,  and  the 
ninth  inning.  We've  got  to  play  some  if  we  want 
to  beat  them." 

"  Sam,  I  want  you ! "  cried  Bob,  coming  up. 
"Felder  has  twisted  his  foot,  and  you  will  have 
to  take  his  place  in  left  field." 

"  Am  I  to  bat  in  his  place  ?  "  questioned  the 
youngest  Rover. 

"Yes." 

"  All  right.    I'll  do  the  best  I  can." 

There  was  silence  around  the  grounds  when 
the  Brill  team  came  to  the  bat.  With  the  score 
5  to  2  in  favor  of  Roxky,  it  looked  rather  dubi 
ous  for  the  visitors.  Some  of  the  onlookers* 


THE  GREAT  BASEBALL  GAME  75 

thinking  the  game  practically  over,  started  to 
wards  the  gates,  and  the  carriages  and  auto 
mobiles.  The  first  man  up  was  the  captain,  and 
he  walked  to  the  plate  with  a  "  do  or  die  "  look 
on  his  face. 

"  Now,  Bob,  lam  it  out  for  all  you  are  worth ! " 
shouted  one  of  his  admirers. 

The  first  ball  sent  in  was  too  low,  and  Bob  let 
it  pass  him;  but  the  second  was  just  where  he 
wanted  it  The  bat  swung  around  like  lightning, 
and,  following  a  loud  crack,  the  sphere  sailed  off 
towards  left  field. 

"  Run,  Bob,  run ! "  yelled  a  great  number  of  his 
friends,  and  the  captain  let  go  all  the  speed  that 
was  in  him.  When  the  ball  finally  reached  the 
diamond,  it  found  Bob  safe  on  third. 

"That's  the  way  to  open  up!  Now,  then, 
bring  him  in !  " 

This  was  not  so  easy.  The  batter  up  tried  a 
sacrifice  hit,  but  the  ball  rolled  down  well  towards 
the  pitcher,  who  landed  it  at  first  in  a  twinkling. 
Bob  attempted  to  get  home,  but  then  thought  bet 
ter  of  it,  and  slid  back  to  third.  The  next  batter, 
up  was  Sam.  He  had  with  him  his  favorite  ash 
stick,  and,  as  he  stepped  behind  the  plate,  he 
gritted  his  teeth  and  eyed  the  pitcher  closely. 

Carson  had  been  practicing  on  what  he  called 
a  fadeaway  ball,  and  now  he  thought  this  would 


;6  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

be  just  the  right  thing  to  offer  Sam.  He  wound 
up  with  a  great  flourish,  and  sent  the  sphere  in. 

Sam  was  on  his  guard,  and  calculated  just 
right.  Hrs  bat  came  around  in  a  clean  sweep, 
and  on  the  instant  the  ball  was  flying  down  to 
wards  deep  center. 

"My!  look  at  that!" 

"  Run,  Rover,  run !  " 

No  sooner  had  the  ball  connected  with  the  bat, 
than  Bob,  at  third,  was  on  his  way  home.  He 
reached  the  plate  before  Sam  touched  first.  Then 
Sam,  skirting  the  initial  bag,  tore  straight  for 
second,  and  then  for  third.  In  the  meantime,  the 
fielder  was  still  running  after  the  ball.  As  Sam 
started  for  home,  the  fielder  managed  to  capture 
the  sphere,  and  threw  it  with  all  his  skill  to  the 
second  baseman. 

"  Run,  Sam,  run ! "  yelled  Tom,  fairly  dancing 
up  and  down  in  his  anxiety.  "  Leg  it,  old  man, 
legit!" 

And  certainly  Sam  did  "leg  it"  as  he  never 
had  before.  Straight  for  the  home  plate  he  came, 
and  slid  in  amid  a  cloud  of  dust,  just  before  the 
ball  came  up  from  the  field. 

"  Hurrah !  hurrah !  a  home  run !  " 

"  Now,  boys,  we've  started  the  ball  rolling," 
cried  out  Bob,  "  Remember,  only  one  more  run 
ties  the  score." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOW  THE  GAME  ENDED 

THE  next  batter  up  was  plainly  nervous.  He 
had  two  strikes  called  on  him,  and  then  he 
knocked  a  small  foul,  which  was  quickly  gath 
ered  in  by  the  third  baseman.  Then  Tom  came 
to  the  bat,  and  was  lucky  enough  to  make  a  clean 
one-base  hit.  After  that,  came  several  base  hits 
in  rapid  succession.  These  brought  in  not  only 
Tom,  but  also  the  man  behind  him.  Then  came 
a  bad  fumble  on  the  part  of  the  Roxley  shortstop, 
and,  as  a  result,  another  run  was  put  up  to  the 
credit  of  Brill. 

"  Seven  runs    That's  going  some ! " 
"  I  guess  this  is  Brill's  game,  after  all." 
"  Make  it  a  round  dozen  while  you're  at  it, 
boys." 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  The  hits  for  Brill  had 
evidently  come  to  an  end,  and  the  side  retired  with 
seven  runs  to  its  credit. 

"  Now,  Tom,  hold  them  down  if  you  possibly 
can,"  said  Bob,  as  his  team  took  the  field. 

77 


78  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  I'll  do  my  level  best,  Bob,"  was  the  reply. 

With  the  score  five  to  seven  against  them,  Rox- 
ley  put  in  a  pinch  .hitter  by  the  name  of  Bixby. 
This  player  certainly  made  good,  getting  a  three- 
base  hit  with  apparent  ease.  Then  followed  an 
out,  and  then  another  base  hit,  bringing  in  Bixby's 
•run.  Then  followed  some  ragged  play  on  the  part 
of  Bob  and  his  second  and  third  basemen,  which 
put  out  one  man,  but  evened  up  the  score,  7  to  7. 

With  two  men  out,  and  the  score  a  tie,  it  was 
certainly  a  delicate  position  for  Tom. 

" Tom,  hold  them!  please  hold  them ! "  pleaded 
Bob,  as  he  came  up.  "  Don't  let  them  get  as  far 
as  first  if  you  can  help  it" 

The  batter  to  face  Tom  was  a  fairly  good  one, 
but  the  young  pitcher  remembered  that  this  fellow 
had  always  struck  at  balls  which  were  both  high 
and  far  out.  Accordingly,  he  fed  him  only  those 
which  were  low  and  well  in. 

"One  strike!" 

"  That's  it,  Tom !    Keep  it  up ! " 

Again  Tom  wound  up,  and  the  ball  shot  over 
the  plate.  This  time  the  batsman  swung  for  it, 
but  failed  to  connect. 

"Strike  two!" 

"  Good  boy,  Tom,  Chat's  the  way  to  do  it ! " 

"  Be  careful,  Billy,  make  him  give  you  just 
what  you  want !  " 


HOW  THE  GAME  ENDED  79 

Once  again  Tom  wound  up,  and  this  time  sent 
the  ball  in  with  all  the  speed  that  was  left  to  him. 
Again  the  bat  came  around. 

"  Strike  three !    Batter  out !  " 

A  wild  yell  arose.  Here  was  the  end  of  the 
ninth  inning,  and  the  game  was  a  tie ! 

"  Oh,  Songbird!  do  you  think  Brill  will  win?  " 
exclaimed  Grace,  anxiously. 

"  I  certainly  hope  so.  We've  pulled  up  pretty 
well.  We  had  only  two  runs  when  they  had  five, 
remember." 

"  Hasn't  Tom  pitched  pretty  well?  "  questioned 
Minnie. 

"  Sure,  he  has !  Those  Roxley  fellows  are  great 
batters.  More  than  once  they  have  knocked  a 
pitcher  clean  out  of  the  box." 

"  Oh,  I  certainly  hope  Brill  wins,"  murmured 
Nellie. 

There  was  an  intense  silence  when  the  tenth 
inning  opened.  Frank  came  to  the  bat  first,  and 
knocked  a  little  one,  but  managed  to  reach  first. 
Then,  on  a  sacrifice  hit,  he  advanced  to  second. 
Following  that,  came  a  wild  throw  by  the  Roxley 
pitcher,  and  Frank  dusted  as  fast  as  he  could  for. 
third. 

"  Now,  Carson,  hold  him !  "  yelled  a  number  of 
the  Roxley  followers  to  their  pitcher.  "Don't 
let  him  get  in !  " 


80  THE  ROVER   BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

Carson  did  his  best,  but  with  two  strikes  called 
on  the  batter,  there  came  a  neat  little  one-base  hit, 
and,  amid  a  wild  cheering  and  a  grand  tooting  of 
horns  and  sounding  of  rattles,  Frank  slid  in  to 
the  home  plate. 

"  Hurrah !  hurrah !  that  makes  the  score  eight 
to  seven ! " 

"  Keep  it  up,  boys!    You've  got  'em  going." 

But  that  was  the  end  of  the  run  making  for 
Brill.  The  next  man  was  put  out  with  ease,  and 
the  side  retired  with  the  score  reading:  Rox- 
ley— 7,  Brill— 8. 

"  Now,  if  we  can  only  hold  them,"  was  Spud's 
comment,  as  he  glanced  at  Bob  and  then  at  Tom. 
"  How  about  it?  "  he  demanded,  of  the  pitcher. 

"  I'll  do  what  I  can,"  was  Tom's  simple  answer. 

Nearly  all  the  spectators  in  the  grandstand  and 
on  the  bleachers  were  now  on  their  feet.  All 
sorts  of  cries  and  suggestions  rent  the  air.  Amid 
this  great  hubbub,  the  Brill  nine  took  their  posi 
tions,  Sam  going  down  to  left  field  as  directed 
by  Bob. 

Tom  was  a  trifle  pale  as  he  faced  the  first  bat 
ter,  but,  if  he  was  nervous,  the  Roxley  player  was 
evidently  more  so.  Almost  before  either  of  them 
knew  it,  two  strikes  had  been  called.  Then,  how 
ever,  came  a  short  hit  to  third,  which  the  base 
man  fumbled,  and  the  batter  got  safely  to  first. 


THE  GAME  ENDED  8l 

"  That's  the  way !    Now,  keep  it  up ! " 

"  We  only  want  two  runs  to  win." 

The  next  batter  was  one  that  Tom,  fortunately, 
had  studied  closely.  This  man  usually  waited  all 
he  could  in  the  hope  of  having  balls  called  on 
the  pitcher.  As  a  consequence,  Tom  fed  him  sev 
eral  straight  ones  over  the  plate,  and  so  quickly 
that  two  strikes  were  called  almost  before  the 
baseman  realized  what  was  occurring.  Then,  as 
he  swung  at  a  low  one,  the  third  strike  was  called, 
and  he  was  declared  out.  In  the  meantime,  how 
ever,  the  runner  on  first  had  made  second.  Then 
came  another  out,  and  then  a  drive  to  second, 
which  landed  the  batsman  on  first,  but  kept  the 
man  on  second  where  he  was. 

"  Two  men  on  base ! " 

"  Bring  'em  in,  Landy !  Bang  it  out  for  all  you 
are  worth ! " 

"Careful,  Tom,  careful!"  pleaded  Bob;  and 
even  Spud  came  down  to  interview  the  pitcher. 

"  I'm  doing  all  I  can,"  returned  Tom. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  Tom's  blood  was  surg 
ing  wildly.  'K.  miss — and  the  game  would  either 
become  a  tie  or  be  won  by  Roxley.' 

In  came  the  ball,  and  the  Roxley  player  swung 
at  it  viciously. 

"Strike  one!" 

"  Good  boy,  Tom,  keep  it  up ! " 


82  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Strike  him  out,  old  man ! " 

Again  Tom  twirled  the  ball  and  sent  it  in.  Just 
the  instant  before  it  left  his  hand,  his  foot  slipped, 
|  and  the  sphere  came  in,  not  on  a  curve  as  the 
young  pitcher  had  intended,  but  straight.  Crack ! 
went  the  bat,  and  in  a  twinkling  the  sphere  was 
sailing  high  in  the  air  toward  left  field. 

"  Hurrah,  that's  the  way  to  do  it !  " 

"  Run,  everybody  run !  " 

"Get  it,  Sam,  get  it!" 

The  ball  was  high  in  the  air  and  well  over 
Sam's  head.  The  youngest  Rover  was  running 
with  might  and  main  down  left  field.  The  eyes 
of  all  the  spectators  were  on  him.  On  and  on, 
and  still  on,  he  sped,  with  the  ball  curving  lower 
and  lower  toward  the  field.  Then,  just  as  the 
sphere  was  coming  down,  Sam  made  a  wild  clutch 
with  his  left  hand  and  caught  it. 

"Batter  out!" 

"  My,  what  a  catch !  " 

"  Wasn't  it  a  beauty !  " 

"  Brill  wins  the  game ! " 

Such  a  riot  as  ensued!  Hats  and  canes  were 
thrown  up  into  the  air,  horns  tooted  loudly,  and 
the  noise  of  the  rattles  was  incessant.  The  Brill 
students  fairly  danced  for  joy,  and  their  friends, 
including  the  ladies,  were  almost  equally  demoi*' 
strative* 


HOW  THE  GAME  ENDED  83 

"  Sam,  that's  the  best  catch  I  ever  saw  in  my 
life ! "  cried  Bob,  as  he  ran  forward  to  grab  the 
young  left-fielder  by  the  hand. 

"  It  certainly  was,  Sam ;  and  you  pulled  me  out 
of  a  big  hole,"  came  from  Tom.  "  When  I  saw 
that  fellow  hit  the  ball,  I  thought  it  was  all  up 
with  us." 

"  Some  catch,  that ! "  broke  in  Spud.  And  all 
the  others  on  the  nine,  and  many  of  Sam's  friends, 
said  the  same. 

Of  course,  Roxley  was  tremendously  disap 
pointed  at  the  outcome  of  the  struggle.  Never 
theless,  as  was  usual,  she  cheered  her  opponent, 
and  was  cheered  in  return.  Then  the  two  teams 
broke  and  ran  for  the  dressing  rooms,  and  the 
great  crowd  of  spectators  began  to  slowly  dis 
appear. 

"  Oh,  Sam,  that  catch  was  too  lovely  for  any 
thing!"  cried  Grace,  when  the  two  Rover  boys 
had  managed  to  break  away  from  the  rest  of  the 
team  and  their  numerous  friends,  and  had  re 
joined  the  girls  and  Songbird.  "  Why,  do  you 
know,  I  was  on  pins  and  needles  when  I  saw  that 
ball  coming  down  and  you  running  after  it.  I 
\  .was  so  afraid  you  wouldn't  get  there  in  time ! " 

"  Well,  I  just  got  it,  and  no  more,"  returned 
Sam,  modestly. 

"  He  pulled  me  out  of  a  hole,"  broke  in  Tom. 


84  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  for  Sam,  Roxley  would  have 
won  the  game." 

"  But  you  did  well,  Tom, — better  than  our 
other  pitchers  would  have  done,"  replied  his 
brother,  loyally.  "  Everybody  says  so.  Why, 
four  or  five  of  those  Roxley  hitters  can  knock 
the  ordinary  pitcher  clean  out  of  the  box." 

"  Believe  me,  there  will  be  some  celebration  to 
night  ! "  vouchsafed  Songbird,  as  his  eyes  lit  up 
in  expectation.  "  Bonfires,  speeches,  parades,  and 
all  that." 

"  Don't  I  wish  I  was  a  college  boy,  to  be 
there!"  returned  Minnie,  wistfully. 

"  Too  bad !  but  no  girls  are  allowed,"  returned 
Sam.  "Just  the  same,  I  don't  think  we'll  have 
to  get  back  to  the  college  very  early." 

It  had  already  been  arranged  that  the  Rovers 
and  Songbird  and  the  three  girls  should  go  off  on 
a  little  automobile  trip  after  the  game.  Grace 
and  Nellie  had  received  permission  to  be  absent 
from  Hope  during  the  supper  hour,  and  Tom  had 
telephoned  to  the  hotel  at  Cliffwood,  about  twenty 
mites  away,  asking  the  proprietor  to  reserve  aj 
table  for  them  and  prepare  dinner  for  six. 

Sam  was  now  at  the  wheel,  and  as  he  could 
handle  the  car  as  well  as  his  brother,  the  run  to 
Cliffwood  did  not  take  long.  At  the  hotel,  the 
young  folks  encountered  several  other  parties 


HOW   THE   GAME  ENDED  85 

from  Brill  and  Hope,  and  the  gathering  was,  con 
sequently,  quite  a  merry  one.  Tom  had  ordered 
flowers  for  the  table,  and  also  small  bouquets  for 
each  of  the  girls. 

"Oh,  how  perfectly  lovely,  Tom!"  cried  Nel 
lie,  on  catching  sight  of  the  flowers. 

"  I  think  the  gentlemen  ought  to  have  button 
hole  bouquets,"  said  Grace. 

"  All  right,  I'm  willing,"  returned  Sam  quickly, 
and  thereupon  some  of  the  flowers  from  the 
larger  bouquet  were  speedily  transferred  to  three 
coat  buttonholes. 

It  was  a  lively  time  all  around,  for  between 
fehe  courses  that  were  served,  the  young  folks  in 
sisted  upon  singing  some  of  the  Brill  and  Hope 
songs.  As  it  happened,  there  were  no  outside 
guests  present,  so  the  students  and  their  friends 
could  do  pretty  much  as  they  pleased. 

"  Sorry,  but  we've  got  to  start  back,"  said 
Tom,  presently,  as  he  looked  at  his  watch.  "  Not 
but  what  I'd  rather  stay  here  than  go  to  Brill  for 
the  celebration ! "  and  he  looked  fondly  at  Nellie. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  my  driving  the  car?  " 
.  suggested  Songbird,  who  was  well  able  to  per 
form  that  service.  "  You've  both  had  a  whack  at 
it;  it  seems  to  me  it's  my  turn  now." 

Both  of  the  Rovers  were  willing,  and  a  short 
time  later,  with  Songbird  at  the  wheel  and  Min- 


86  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

jiie  beside  him,  and  the  Rovers  and  the  Laning 
girls  in  the  tonneau,  the  touring  car  left  the  hotel 
and  started  on  the  way  to  the  Sanderson  cottage 
and  the  seminary. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  a  song?  "  cried  Sam, 
as  the  car  sped  along. 

"  Right  you  are ! "  returned  his  brother. 
"Girls,  what  shall  it  be?" 

Instead  of  replying,  Nellie  started  up  an  old 
favorite  at  the  college,  sung  to  the  tune  of 
"  Camping  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground."  Instant 
ly  all  of  the  others  joined  in. 

"  Some  song ! "  exclaimed  Tom,  after  the  first 
verse  had  come  to  an  end.  "  Now  then,  alto 
gether  ! "  and  he  waved  his  hand  like  a  band 
leader.  The  voices  of  the  young  people  arose 
sweetly  on  the  evening  air,  but  hardly  had  they 
sung  two  lines  of  the  second  verse,  when  there 
came  an  unexpected  interruption. 

Bang!  The  sound  came  from  below  them. 
Then  the  touring  car  suddenly  swerved  to  the 
side  of  the  road.  Almost  as  quickly  Songbird 
uirew  out  the  clutch  and  applied  both  brakes. 
They  came  to  a  standstill  in  the  middle  of  the 
roadway. 

"  Oh,  Tom !  what's  the  matter?  "  gasped  Nellie, 

"  I  don't  know,  but  I'm  afraid  it's  a  blowout,3* 
was  the  serious  reply. 


CHAPTER  IX 


"On,  what  luck!" 

"And  just  when  we  wanted  to  make  time, 
too!" 

"  I  hope  it  doesn't  take  us  long  to  put  on  an 
other  tire ! " 

These  remarks  came  from  the  three  students 
as  they  climbed  down  from  the  car  to  make  an 
examination  of  the  damage  done.  Sam  had  se 
cured  his  searchlight,  but  this  was  hardly  needed. 
One  glance  at  the  left-hand  back  tire  told  the 
story.  They  had  evidently  run  over  something 
sharp — perhaps  a  piece  of  glass — and  there  was 
a  cut  in  the  shoe  at  least  three  inches  long. 
Through  this,  the  inner  tube  had  blown  out  with 
the  report  that  had  so  startled  them. 

"  Well,  boys,  everybody  on  the  job ! "  cried 
Tom,  and  lost  no  time  in  stripping  off  his  coat 
and  donning  a  jumper,  which  he  carried  for  use 
when  working  on  the  car. 

87 


88  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  I  suppose  that's  my  fault,"  said  Songbird, 
much  crestfallen. 

"  It  might  have  happened  to  any  of  us,  Song 
bird,"  returned  Sam.  "  Let  us  see  how  quickly 
we  can  put  on  another  shoe  and  inner  tube."  He, 
too,  put  on  a  jumper,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
boys  had  the  back  axle  of  the  touring  car  jacked 
up. 

"  You  hold  the  light,  Songbird,"  directed  Tom. 
"  Sam  and  I  can  do  this  work  without  any  help." 
Then  the  two  Rovers  set  to  work,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  the  old  shoe  with  its  inner  tube  had 
been  removed.  In  the  meantime,  Songbird  had 
brought  out  another  inner  tube,  and  unstrapped 
one  of  the  extra  shoes  attached  to  the  side  of  the 
car,  and  these  were  quickly  placed  over  the  wheel 
rim. 

"  Now,  let  me  do  my  share  of  the  pumping," 
insisted  Songbird. 

"Nothing  doing  on  that  score,  Songbird!" 
replied  Tom,  quickly.  "  We  had  a  new  power 
pump  installed  last  week.  I  will  attach  it,  and, 
then  you  can  start  up  the  motor." 

"  A  power  pump !  Say,  that  beats  hand  pump-' 
ing  all  to  pieces." 

"  Indeed,  it  does ! "  broke  in  Sam.  "  I  never 
minded  putting  on  a  new  tire,  but  the  pumping- 
up  always  came  hard." 


CELEBRATING    THE    VICTORY  89 

"  Say,  this  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  story,"  came 
from  Tom,  with  a  grin.  "  Some  Germans  were 
going  on  an  automobile  tour,  and  a  friend  was 
bidding  them  good-bye.  Says  the  friend :  '  Uf 
you  haf  a  blowout,  be  sure  and  haf  it  in  de  right 
place — at  de  hotel ! ' '  And  at  this  little  joke 
there  was  a  general  laugh. 

Five  minutes  more  found  them  again  on  the 
way,  and  now  Songbird  had  the  large  lights 
turned  on,  which  made  the  roadway  ahead  as 
bright  as  day.  He  drove  as  speedily  as  possible, 
but  with  great  care,  avoiding  everything  that 
looked  as  if  it  might  harm  the  tires. 

"  Oh,  what  a  splendid  time  I  have  had ! "  ex 
claimed  Minnie,  as,  all  too  soon,  the  Sanderson 
homestead  was  reached.  Then  Songbird  assisted 
her  to  alight,  and  insisted  upon  accompanying  her 
into  the  cottage. 

"  I  will  wager  he  would  rather  stay  here  than 
go  on  to  Brill,"  remarked  Tom,  slyly. 

"  Sure  thing!  "  returned  Sam.  "  Wouldn't  we 
rather  remain  at  Hope  than  go  to  Brill  ?  "  And 
at  this  pointed  remark  both  of  the  girls  giggled. 

Those  outside  waited  for  several  minutes,  and 
then  Tom  sounded  the  horn  loudly.  Soon  Song 
bird  re-appeared  and  took  his  place  at  the  wheel, 
and  then  the  automobile  was  turned  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  seminary. 


90  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS. 

"  When  will  we  see  you  again  ? "  remarked 
Nellie,  when  the  touring  car  had  been  run  through 
the  grounds. 

"  Oh,  it  won't  be  very  long,"  replied  Tom* 
But  as  he  spoke,  little  did  he  realize  under  what 
peculiar  conditions  they  would  come  together 
again. 

"If  you  hear  anything  more  about  that  money 
affair,  let  us  know  at  once,"  whispered  Sam  to 
Grace. 

"  I  will,  Sam,"  returned  the  girl ;  and  a  few; 
minutes  later  the  young  folks  bade  each  other  a 
fond  good-night,  and  the  touring  car  turned  to 
wards  Brill. 

The  lads  were  still  some  distance  from  the  col 
lege  grounds  when  they  heard  the  sounds  of  horns 
and  rattles.  Then  they  beheld  a  glimmer  of  light 
down  by  the  river  bank.  Soon  the  light  bright 
ened  until  it  covered  a  goodly  portion  of  the 
sky. 

"  Some  bonfires  and  some  noise ! "  was  Sam's 
comment. 

"  Well,  we  don't  defeat  Roxley  every  day  iri 
the  year,"  returned  Tom,  gaily.  "  Say,  this  suits 
me  right  down  to  the  ground!  Songbird,  you 
ought  to  get  up  a  poem  in  honor  of  the  occasion." 

"  Perhaps  I  will,"  answered  the  would-be  poet 
of  the  college,  and  then  he  began  to  murmur  to 


CELEBRATING    THE   VICTORY  91 

himself.    Evidently  the  poem  was  already  begin* 
ning  to  shape  itself  in  his  fertile  mind. 

"  I  say,  you  Rovers ! "  came  a  call  as  the  car] 
swung  into  the  roadway  lining  one  side  of  the 
campus.  "  What's  the  matter  with  giving  us  a1* 
joy  ride?"  and  one  of  the  students  came  run 
ning  forward,  followed  by  several  others.  Two 
of  them  carried  torches  made  of  old  brooms 
dipped  in  tar. 

"  Nothing  doing  to-night,"  returned  Sam 
quickly,  and  added  in  a  whisper  to  Tom :  "  Those 
fellows  would  wreck  the  car  completely." 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  the  older  Rover,  and 
then  he  said  aloud:  "We  have  had  all  the  run 
we  want  this  evening.  We  are  going  to  celebrate 
with  the  rest  of  the  crowd  down  at  the  river." 
And  without  stopping  to  argue  the  matter,  Tom 
ran  the  automobile  to  its  garage. 

"  Back,  safe  an'  sound,  eh?  "  questioned  Abner 
Filbury,  as  he  came  forward  to  take  charge  of 
the  machine. 

"  Ab,  you  look  out  that  some  of  the  fellows 
don't  take  this  car  to-night,"  warned  Tom. 

"There  ain't  no  cars  goin'  out  less'n  I've  the 
correct  orders  for  'em,"  replied  Abner.  "This 
is  the  last  machine  in,  an'  I'm  goin'  to  lock  up 
an'  stay  on  guard.  If  anybody  tries  to  break  in 
here  against  orders,  they'll  git  a  dose  of  buckshot 


92  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

in  'em."  And  Abner  pointed  grimly  at  a  shotgun 
that  hung  on  one  of  the  walls. 

"  Oh,  Ab,  don't  go  in  for  shooting  anybody ! " 
exclaimed  Sam,  in  alarm.  "Turn  the  hose  on 
them,  that  will  be  enough." 

"All  right,  jest  as  you  say.  But  they  ain't 
goin'  to  git  in  here  at  these  machines  without 
permission." 

Tom  and  Sam  made  a  hasty  visit  to  their  room, 
and  then  hurried  downstairs  again  and  off  to  the 
waterfront.  Here,  several  bonfires  had  been  lit. 
They  were  composed  of  boxes  and  barrels  with  a 
large  quantity  of  brushwood  added,  and  one  bon 
fire  was  nearly  twenty  feet  in  height. 

"  Here  they  come ! "  called  out  a  student. 

"  Hurrah  for  our  pitcher ! " 

"  And  the  best  fly  catcher  Brill  ever  saw ! " 

"  Say,  this  is  certainly  some  bonfire ! "  ex 
claimed  Sam,  looking  at  the  big  blaze. 

"  It  sure  is !  "  returned  his  brother.  "  If  the 
wind  should  shift,  it  might  prove  dangerous,"  he 
added,  as  he  watched  a  great  mass  of  sparks 
floating  across  the  stream  and  over  the  woods 
beyond. 

"  Oh,  it's  perfectly  safe,"  came  from  Paul  Or- 
ben,  who  was  one  of  the  students  who  had  helped 
to  pile  up  the  combustibles. 

The  crowd  was  certainly  a  gay  one,  and  the 


CELEBRATING   THE   VICTORY  9$ 

Rovers  lost  no  time  in  joining  in  the  festivities. 
One  student  had  a  bugle,  and  another  had  an  old 
base  drum  which  boasted  of  only  one  head.  These 
two  succeeded  in  forming  a  crowd  of  their  fel 
low-students  into  marching  order,  and,  singing 
gaily  and  tooting  horns  and  sounding  rattles,  and 
with  numerous  torches  flickering,  the  collegians 
tramped  around  the  college  buildings  and  over 
the  campus  and  then  back  to  the  bonfires. 

"  Whoop !  Hurrah !  "  came  a  sudden  yell,  and 
from  one  of  the  distant  barns  rushed  half  a  dozen 
students,  dragging  behind  them  a  buggy.  On  the 
seat,  wearing  an  exceedingly  tight  jockey  jacket, 
and  likewise  a  jockey  cap,  sat  old  man  Filbury, 
the  general  caretaker  of  the  dormitories. 

"  Hurrah !    Here  the  conquering  hero  comes ! "" 

"  It's  a  race — a  race  for  a  thousand  dollars ! " 

"  I'll  bet  on  Filbury,  every  time ! " 

"  Now,  see  here,  gents,  I  don't  like  this  at  all. 

You  lemme  out  o'  this  here  kerridge,"  wailed  the 

old  man-of-all-work.    "  I  ain't  doin'  none  o'  this 

celebratin'.    I  got  some  work  to  do.    You  let  me 

go" 

"Oh,  we  couldn't  think  of  it,  Filbury,"  cried* 

Stanley,  who  was  one  of  the  students  at  the1 
shafts  of  the  carriage.  "  Now  then,  boys,  to 
gether  ! "  rKnd  along  the  turnout  rattled,  past  the 
various  bonfires. 


94  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Speech!  Speech!"  came  another  cry.  "  Fil 
bury,  can't  you  say  something  about  Brill  and 
this  glorious  victory?" 

"  Never  mind  the  victory,"  came  from  Tom. 
. "  Let  him  tell  us  about  how  to  pass  our  exami 
nations  without  studying." 

"And  how  to  get  credit  down  in  town  with 
out  paying  any  bills,"  put  in  another  student,  who, 
evidently,  had  hard  work  making  both  ends  meet. 

"  I  tell  you,  I  ain't  a-goin'  to  make  no  speech," 
wailed  old  Filbury.  "  I've  got  work  to  do.  You 
lemme  go." 

"  Sam,"  whispered  Tom,  catching  his  brother 
by  the  arm,  "  what's  the  matter  with  giving  Wil 
liam  Philander  a  ride  with  old  Filbury?  " 

"  Just  the  cheese,  Tom ! "  returned  the  young 
Rover.  "  But  how  can  we  do  it?  " 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  a  short  minute, 
and  Spud  and  Bob  were  called  in  to  aid.  William 
Philander  Tubbs  sat  on  a  small  packing  case  which 
had  not,  as  yet,  been  fed  to  the  flames.  He  was, 
as  usual,  faultlessly  attired,  even  down  to  his 
spats. 

Passing  the  word  to  those  who  had  charge 
of  the  carriage  and  who  were  doing  their  best  to 
get  some  fun  out  of  old  Fiibury,  Tom  and  Sam 
and  their  chums  worked  their  way  to  a  position 
behind  William  Philander.  Then  came  a  sudden 


CELEBRATING  THE  VICTORY  95 

rush,  and  the  dudish  student  found  himself 
caught  up  and  carried  bodily  over  to  the  carriage, 
where  he  was  unceremoniously  dumped  on  the 
seat  beside  the  old  man-of-all-work. 

"My  gracious  me!  What  does  this  mean?" 
gasped  the  astonished  William  Philander.  "  I 
don't  want  any  ride,  I  want  you  to  leave  me 
alone." 

"  All  aboard,  everybody ! "  sang  out  Tom,  and 
gave  the  carriage  a  shove  from  behind.  Before 
the  dudish  student  could  attempt  to  leap  to  the 
ground,  the  turnout  was  once  more  in  motion  and 
dashing  along  the  campus  roadway  as  fast  as  the 
students  could  pull  and  push  it 

"  Them  boys  is  plumb  crazy !  "  gasped  old  Fil- 
bury. 

"  Oh,  I  never !  We  shall  certainly  be  hurt," 
wailed  William  Philander.  And  then,  as  two 
wheels  of  the  turnout  went  over  a  big  stone,  he 
clutched  old  Filbury  wildly  by  the  shoulder. 
Then  the  carriage  struck  another  stone,  and  both 
occupants  held  fast  for  dear  life.  Three  times 
the  turnout,  with  its  terrified  occupants,  circled 
the  campus.  All  trie  while  William  Philander  and 
©Id  Filbury  were  yelling  wildly  for  their  tor 
mentors  to  stop.  But  now,  a  long  rope  had  been 
hitched  fast  to  the  front  axle,  and  fully  two  dozen 
students  had  hold  of  this,  fresh  ones  continually 


96  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

taking  the  places  of  those  who  became  tire«i  out. 
As  it  was,  Sam  and  Tom  went  around  twice,  and 
then  fell  out  to  rest. 

"  Say,  Washer,"  said  a  student  named  Lamar 
to  his  close  chum,  "  here's  a  chance  to  square  up 
with  old  Filbury  for  the  way  he  treated  us." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  the  student 
named  Washer. 

"  Let  us  get  in  the  lead  on  the  rope,  and  run 
the  carriage  down  to  the  river." 

"  Say,  that's  just  the  cheese ! "  chuckled  the 
other.  "We'll  do  it.  I  think  old  Filbury  de 
serves  something  for  reporting  us  as  he  did." 

On  and  on  went  the  carriage,  but  at  the  turn  in 
the  roadway  it  was  suddenly  hauled  over  the 
grass  and  between  some  bushes. 

"  Oh,  Tom,  look !  They  are  heading  for  the 
river ! "  cried  Sam. 

"All  aboard!"  yelled  Washer.  "Now  then, 
straight  ahead !  "  He  and  Lamar  had  headed  for 
the  water.  Some  of  the  students  tried  to  turn 
to  the  right  or  the  left,  but  others  followed  the 
'leaders.  In  a  moment  more,  the  carriage  had 
reached  the  sloping  bank  of  the  river.  Then  the 
crowd  scattered,  and  a  moment  later  the  turnout, 
with  a  twist,  struck  the  water  and  went  over  side 
ways,  plunging  old  Filbury  and  William  Phi 
lander  into  the  stream. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    FIRE   AT    HOPE 

"  MY,  what  a  dive ! " 

"Everybody  to  the  rescue!" 

"  Somebody  get  some  life-preservers ! w 

So  the  cries  arose  as  the  students  ran  from 
every  direction  and  lined  the  bank  of  the  river, 
which,  at  this  point,  was  but  a  few  feet  deep. 

Old  Filbury  was  the  first  to  reappear,  and  as 
he  stood  up  in  water  and  mud  that  reached  his 
waist,  he  shook  his  fist  at  his  tormentors. 

"  You'll  pay  for  this !  "  he  cried.  "  I'll  fix  yer  I 
I'll  have  yer  all  sent  home,  you'll  see  if  I  don't! " 

In  the  meantime,  William  Philander  had  also 
struggled  to  his  feet.  He  had  lost  his  cap,  and 
on  the  top  of  his  head  rested  a  mass  of  grass  and 
mud.  He  came  out  of  the  water  spluttering  and 
shaking  himself. 

"  I  won't  stand  this !  I'll  have  you  all  arrest 
ed  ! "  he  gasped. 

"  It  was  an  accident,"  came  from  one  of  the 
students. 

"  It  was  not !    It  was  done  on  purpose ! " 
97 


98  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Sure !  it  was  done  a  purpose ! "  roared  old 
Filbury.  "I  never  seen  such  goin's  on  in  my 
life!" 

"Never  mind,  you  needed  a  bath,  Filbury," 
'shouted  one  student.  And  at  this  there  was  a 
laugh. 

"  I  am  going  to  report  all  of  you,"  stormed 
William  Philander.  "Look  at  this  suit,  it  is 
ruined ! "  and  he  held  up  the  sides  of  his  coat  to 
view.  The  water  and  mud  were  dripping  pro 
fusely  from  the  garment. 

"  Better  go  down  to  the  gym  and  get  under  a 
shower,"  suggested  Spud. 

"  I  am  not.  I  am  going  to  my  room,"  retorted 
William  Philander.  And  then,  of  a  sudden,  he 
took  to  his  heels,  burst  through  the  crowd,  and 
hurried  toward  one  of  the  college  buildings.  At 
the  same  time,  Filbury  started  to  run  for  one  of 
the  stables. 

"  Say,  Tom,  that  was  rather  rough,"  remarked 
Sam,  after  the  two  had  disappeared. 

"  It  sure  was,  Sam.  I  didn't  think  they  would 
run  the  carriage  into  the  water  like  that." 

"It  was  Washer's  and  Lamar's  fault." 

"  I  know  it.  They  are  always  out  for  carrying 
a  joke  to  the  limit  I  suppose  they  had  it  in  for 
old  Filbury,  and  they  must  have  had  it  in  for 
Tubbs,  too." 


THE    TURNOUT,    WITH    A    TWIST,    STRUCK    THE    WATER    AND    WENT    OVEK 

SIDEWAYS 
The  Rover  Boys  in  Business*  f^g*  W 


THE  FIRE  AT  HOPE  99 

"I  wonder  if  either  of  them  will  make  a  kick 
Over  the  way  they  have  been  treated,"  put  in  Bob. 
It  may  be  stated  here,  that,  in  the  end,  nothing 
came  of  the  incident.  Filbury  stormed  around  a 
little,  and  so  did  William  Philander,  but,  to  their 
credit  be  it  said,  both  were  "  sports  "  enough  not 
to  take  their  complaints  to  the  college  manage 
ment. 

All  good  times  must  come  to  an  end,  and  by 
midnight  the  bonfires  had  burned  themselves  out, 
and,  one  by  one,  the  students  retired.  The  car 
riage  was  righted  and  taken  back  to  the  place 
where  it  belonged. 

For  the  best  part  of  a  week  after  this,  but 
little  out  of  the  ordinary  occurred.  With  the 
excitement  attending  the  close  of  the  baseball 
season  over,  the  Rovers  applied  themselves  more 
diligently  than  ever  to  their  studies.  During  that 
time  they  received  notes  from  Grace  and  Nellie, 
'stating  that  nothing  new  had  developed  concern 
ing  the  missing  four-hundred-dollar  ring.  They 
also  received  another  letter  from  Drck,  in  which 
the  oldest  Rover  boy  stated  that  he  and  the  lawyer 
ihad  made  a  final  settlement  with  Pelter,  Japson  & 
Company,  and  that  he  had  heard  that  the  brokers 
were  about  to  leave  New  York  City  for  good. 

"  By  the  way,  Tom,"  said  Sam,  after  reading 
the  letter  from  Dick,  "this  puts  me  in  mind: 


100         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

What  became  of  that  fellow  we  hauled  out  of 
the  river?" 

"The  last  I  heard  of  him,  he  was  still  under 
the  care  of  Doctor  Havens." 

"Don't  you  think  we  ought  to  call  on  him? 
He  might  want  to  see  us." 

"If  he  wanted  that,  Sam,  wouldn't  he  send 
us  word?  Perhaps,  if  he  is  any  relation  to  Jesse 
Pefter,  he  would  rather  we  would  keep  away  from 
him." 

On  the  following  morning  a  letter  came  ad 
dressed  to  Tom,  and  bearing  the  Ashton  post 
mark.  On  opening  the  communication,  he  was 
much  interested  to  read  the  following: 

"  DEAR  MR.  ROVER  : 

"  I  want  to  thank  you  and  your  brother  for 
What  you  did  for  me.  I  shall  never  forget  it. 
Even  were  I  in  a  position  to  do  so,  I  would  not 
Insult  you  by  offering  you  any  reward.  You, 
perhaps,  have  learned  my  name,  and  maybe  you 
are  wondering  if  I  am  related  to  Mr.  Pelter  of 
Pelter,  Japson  &  Company,  of  New  York  City. 
Mr.  Pelter  is  my  uncle,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
I  made  my  home  with  him.  I  do  not  altogether 
like  his  way  of  doing  business,  and  do  not  uphold 
him  in  his  dealings  with  your  family.  But  he  is 
my  uncle,  and  on  several  occasions  he  has  assisted 


THE   FIRE  AT  HOPE  IOI 

me  very  materially.    For  that  reason,  I  think  it  is 
best  that  we  do  not  meet. 

"  Again  thanking  you,  I  remain 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  BARTON  PELTER." 

"  I  guess  that  explains  it,"  said  Sam,  after  he, 
..,  t  too,  had  read  the  communication.     "  He  didn't 
(want  to  face  us  because  of  his  relationship  to 
Jesse  Pelter." 

"  I  am  glad  that  he  doesn't  uphold  Jesse  Pelter 
in  his  actions,  Sam." 

"  More  than  likely  he  would  be  glad  to  come 
and  see  us  in  order  to  thank  us  in  person  for 
.what  we  did  for  him  if  it  were  not  for  his  uncle, 
and  the  fact  that  his  uncle  has  aided  him.  You 
know  the  old  saying,  'You  can't  bite  the  hand 
that  feeds  you.' ' 

"I  wonder  if  he  is  still  in  Ashton?" 

"  We  might  telephone  to  the  hotel  and  find  out" 

Later  on  this  was  done,  and  the  boys  were  in 
formed  over  the  wire  that  Barton  Pelter  had  left 
'early  that  morning,  taking  his  automobile  with 
feim. 

"  Well,  only  one  week  more  of  the  grin'd,"  re 
marked  Sam  one  morning  on  arising.     "Aren't 
glad  that  the  closing  day  is  so  near?  " 
I  think  I  would  feel  a  little  better  if  I  knew 


102         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

how  I  was  coming  out  with  my  examinations," 
returned  his  brother. 

"But,  Tom,  it  won't  make  any  difference  to 
you,  if  you  are  not  coming  back." 

"  That  may  be,  but,  just  the  same,  I  would  likes 
to  get  as  much  credit  as  possible  while  I  am 
here." 

Some  of  the  examinations  had  already  been 
held,  and  others  were  to  come  off  within  the  next 
few  days.  As  a  consequence,  the  majority  of  the 
students  were  exceedingly  busy,  so  that  there  was 
little  time  for  recreation. 

Since  the  Rovers  had  come  to  Brill,  the  college 
had  been  endowed  with  the  money  to  build  an 
observatory.  This  structure  had  now  been  com 
pleted,  and  the  boys  took  great  delight  in  visiting 
it  and  looking  through  the  telescope  which  it  con 
tained.  It  stood  on  the  highest  hill  of  the  grounds, 
so  that  from  the  top,  quite  a  view  of  the  surround 
ing  country  could  be  had. 

"  I  am  going  to  the  observatory,"  said  Song 
bird,  that  evening.  "  There  is  going  to  be  some 
kind  of  a  transit,  and- 1  want  to  see  it.  Either  of 
you  fellows  want  to  come  along?" 

"  I  can't, — I've  got  a  paper  to  finish  up,"  re 
turned  Sam,  who  was  busy  at  his  writing  table. 

"  I'll  go.  I  need  a  little  fresh  air,"  said  Torn,, 
and  reached  for  his  cap. 


THE  FIRE   AT  HOPE  103 

At  the  observatory  the  boys  found  one  of  the 
professors  and  about  a  dozen  students  assembled. 
The  professor  was  delivering  something  of  a  lec- 
iture,  to  which  the  boys  listened  with  interest,  at 
the  same  time  taking  turns  looking  through  the 
big  telescope. 

"  It's  a  wonderful  sight,"  murmured  Tom, 
after  he  had  had  his  look.  Then,  followed  by 
Songbird,  he  walked  to  a  little  side  window  which, 
with  several  others,  faced  in  the  direction  of  Hope 
Seminary. 

"  I  suppose  you  would  rather  be  at  Hope  than 
here,"  remarked  Songbird,  dryly. 

"And  you  would  rather  be  at  the  Sanderson 
cottage  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,"  re 
torted  Tom. 

"  It's  too  bad,  Tom,  that  you  are  not  coming 
back  next  Fall,"  went  on  Songbird,  seriously.  "  I 
don't  know  how  we  are  going  to  get  along  with 
out  you." 

"  It  can't  be  helped.  I've  got  to  help  Dick. 
Father  is  too  broken  down  to  attend  to  business, 
and  I  don't  think  it  is  the  fair  thing  to  put  it  all 
off  on  Dick's  shoulders." 

"  Oh,  I  understand.  But  Sam  will  come  back, 
won't  he?" 

"  I  think  so.  One  of  us,  at  least,  ought  to 
finish  the  course  here.  Dick  and  I  are  cut  out 


104         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

for  business,  but  I  think  Sam  ought  to  go  into  one 
of  the  professions." 

"  I  wish  I  knew  what  I  would  like  to  do,  Tom," 
continued  Songbird,  wistfully. 

"  Oh,  some  day  you  will  be  a  celebrated 
poet." 

"  I  think  I  have  got  to  do  something  more  sub 
stantial  than  write  poetry." 

"  Well,  it  all  depends  on  the  brand  of  poetry, 
Songbird."  And  Tom  began  to  grin.  "There 
are  some  fellows  who  make  big  money  at  it." 

"  I'd  like  to  know  who  they  are  ?  "  questioned 
the  would-be  poet,  eagerly. 

"  The  fellows  who  write  up  some  new  brand 
of  safety  razor  or  breakfast  food." 

"Tom!"  And  Songbird  looked  positively 
hurt.  "  How  can  you  be  so  cruel  and  degrade 
poetry  so  ?  " 

"  Well,  they  do  it,  I  don't.    Now,  if  you " 

Tom  brought  his  words  to  a  sudden  stop,  and 
commenced  to  stare  out  of  the  window.  Far 
over  the  distant  wood  he  had  seen  a  strange  light. 
Now  it  was  increasing  rapidly. 

"What  is  it?  What  do  you  see?"  demanded' 
Songbird,  as  he  realized  that  something  unusual 
had  attracted  his  chum's  attention. 

*  Look  there ! "  cried  Tom,  pointing  with  his 
anger.  "  Doesn't  that  look  like  a  fire?  " 


THE  FIRE  AT  HOPE  105 

"  It  surely  does,"  replied  the  other,  after  a  hasty 
inspection.  "  But  it  may  be  only  some  brush  heap 
that  a  farmer  is  getting  rid  of." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that.     Say,  haven't  they 
got  a  pair  of  field  glasses  here?  " 
'     "  Sure ! "  and  Songbird  turned  to  get  the  article 
mentioned. 

As  rapidly  as  possible,  Tom  focused  the  glasses 
on  the  distant  light,  and  took  a  careful  look. 

"  Great  Scott !  it's  a  fire — and  at  Hope  Semi 
nary  ! "  broke  out  the  youth.  "  It  looks  to  me 
as  if  the  whole  place  might  burn  down!  " 

"  What !  A  fire  at  Hope !  "  cried  Songbird,  and 
his  words  attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  others 
in  the  observatory.  He,  too,  took  a  look  through 
the  glasses,  and  one  after  another  the  remaining 
students  did  the  same. 

"  It  certainly  is  a  fire,  and  at  the  seminary,  isn't 
it,  Tom?" 

Tom  did  not  answer.  He  had  already  started 
to  leave  the  building.  Straight  down  the  hill  he 
tore,  and  then  up  to  the  building  where  he  and 
the  others  had  their  rooms.  He  burst  in  on  his 
brother  like  a  cyclone. 

"  Sam,  come  on,  quick !  There  is  a  fire  at  the 
seminary ! " 

The  younger  Rover,  who  was  deep  in  his  writ 
ing,  looked  up,  startled. 


106        THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS, 

"  What  is  that  you  said,  Tom?  " 

"  I  said,  hurry  up ;  come  along ;  there  is  a  fire 
at  the  seminary!  The  girls  may  be  in  danger! 
Come  on,  let  us  go  there  in  the  auto." 

"  Oh,  Tom,  are  you  sure  of  this?  "  And  no^ 
Sam  leaped  up,  brushing  his  writing  to  one  side. 

"Yes,  I  saw  the  fire  from  the  observatory." 
And  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  Tom  gave  his 
brother  the  particulars.  He  was  already  donning 
his  automobile  outfit.  Sam  followed  suit,  and 
both  boys  ran  downstairs  and  to  the  garage. 

By  the  time  they  had  the  touring  car  ready, 
Songbird,  Stanley,  Spud,  and  several  others  had 
joined  them.  The  word  had  been  passed  around 
that  there  was  a  fire  at  Hope,  and  permission  to 
go  to  the  conflagration  was  readily  granted  by  the 
college  management. 

"  All  aboard  who  are  going ! "  sang  out  Tom, 
who  was  at  the  wheel,  with  Sam  beside  him. 
Then,  after  several  collegians  had  climbed  into 
the  tonneau,  away  the  touring  car  dashed  over 
the  road  leading  to  Hope. 


CHAPTER  XI 

TO  THE  RESCUE 

IT  was  a  wild  ride,  never  to  be  forgotten.  Tom 
had  all  the  lights  turned  up  fully,  so  that  he  might 
see  everything  that  was  ahead.  From  twenty 
miles  per  hour  the  speed  climbed  up  to  twenty- 
five,  then  thirty,  then  thirty-five,  and  finally  forty. 
Over  the  newly-mended  bridge  they  dashed  at 
breakneck  speed. 

"  Be  on  your  guard,  Tom,"  warned  Sam. 

"  We've  got  to  get  there,"  was  the  grim  re 
sponse.  "  The  girls  may  be  in  danger." 

"  Right  you  are !  Let  her  go  for  all  she  is 
worth ! " 

They  had  been  making  many  turns  and  going 
up-hill  and  down,  but  now  came  a  straight  stretch 
of  several  miles,  and  here  Tom  put  on  all  the 
extra  power  the  touring  car  could  command. 
From  forty  miles  an  hour,  they  reached  forty- 
five,  and  then  fifty,  and,  at  one  point,  the  speedo 
meter  registered  fifty-four. 

"  My  gracious,  Tom,  don't  kill  us ! "  yelled  Bob, 
107 


108         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

to  make  himself  heard  above  the  roar  of  the 
motor,  for  Tom  had  the  muffler  cutout  wide  open. 

The  youth  at  the  wheel  did  not  answer.  He 
was  giving  all  his  attention  to  the  running  of  the 
car,  and  this  was  needed.  Along  the  roadway 
they  sped  like  an  arrow  from  a  bow,  past  trees  and 
fences,  with  here  and  there  a  farmhouse  or  a  barn. 
Once  Tom  saw  a  white  spot  in  the  road  ahead, 
and  threw  off  the  power.  But  it  was  only  a  flying 
newspaper,  and  on  he  went  as  speedily  as  before. 

"  It's  at  Hope,  all  right !  "  yelled  Stanley,  when 
they  slowed  down  at  a  turn  of  the  road. 

"Yes,  but  I  don't  think  it  is  any  of  the  main 
buildings,"  returned  another  student. 

"  I  hope  not,"  came  from  Sam. 

There  was  one  more  small  rise  to  climb,  and 
then  they  came  into  full  view  of  what  was  ahead. 
Through  the  trees  they  saw  that  one  of  the  large 
barns,  in  which  the  fire  had  evidently  started,  was 
almost  totally  consumed.  The  slight  wind  that 
was  blowing  had  carried  the  sparks  to  one  of  the 
wings  of  the  main  building,  and  this  was  now 
in  flames  at  several  points. 

"Here  comes  the  fire  engine!"  cried  Bob,  as 
the  touring  car  swept  through  the  seminary 
grounds ;  and  he  pointed  down  the  opposite  road. 
Along  this  a  small  engine  from  a  nearby  town 
was  approaching,  hauled  by  a  score  of  men  and 


TO   THE  RESCUE  109 

boys.  Far  down  another  road  could  be  heard  the 
tooting  of  another  engine,  probably  from  some 
other  town. 

"  We  might  give  some  of  those  fellows  help,* 
suggested  Songbird.  "  What's  the  matter  witlit 
running  the  car  down  to  where  they  are,  and; 
hitching  fast?" 

"You  can  do  it,  Songbird,  if  you  wish,"  re 
turned  Tom,  hurriedly.  "  I'll  join  you  just  as 
soon  as  I  find  out  if  the  girls  are  safe." 

"  And  I'll  go  with  Tom,"  put  in  Sam. 

"Oh,  they  must  be  safe;  the  fire  isn't  in  that: 
part  of  the  building/'  broke  in  Stanley.  "But 
go  ahead,  you  fellows,  we'll  take  care  of  the  ma 
chine."  For  he  well  understood  how  anxious  the 
Rovers  must  be  regarding  the  Laning  girls. 

Leaping  from  the  touring  car,  Sam  and  Tom 
joined  the  crowd  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fire,  com 
posed  mostly  of  girl  students  and  their  teachers. 
About  a  score  of  men  and  boys  living  in  the  vi 
cinity  had  come  up,  and  these,  with  the  hired  help 
from  the  institution,  were  doing  all  in  their  power 
to  subdue  the  flames. 

"Did  all  of  the  girls  get  out?"  asked  Tom,  of 
the  first  teacher  he  met. 

"  I  don't  know — I  think  so,"  was  the  answer. 

The  boys  pushed  their  way  'along  from  one 
group  of  students  to  another,  trying  to  catch  sight 


HO         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

pf  those  whom  they  were  seeking.  In  the  mean 
time,  Songbird  and  the  others  from  Brill  had 
taken  charge  of  the  touring  car,  and  run  it  down 
'a  side  road,  where  they  hooked  fast  to  one  of  the 
;  arriving  fire  engines,  much  to  the  relief  of  those 
;who  had  been  dragging  the  machine  over  the 
somewhat  rough  highway,  and  were  almost  ex 
hausted. 

"  Oh,  Sam ! "  The  cry  came  from  Grace,  and 
the  next  instant  the  girl  rushed  up  and  fairly 
threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  the  youngest 
Rover. 

"Where  is  Nellie?"  he  demanded,  quickly. 
"Is  she  safe?" 

"Here  I  am!"  was  the  call,  and  then  Nellie 
came  up  and  caught  Tom  by  the  shoulder.  "  Oh, 
isn't  this  dreadful ! " 

"  It  sure  is,  Nellie/'  returned  Tom,  as  he 
slipped  his  arm  around  her  waist.  "  But  I  am 
mighty  glad  that  you  are  safe.  Do  you  think 
everybody  is  out  ?  " 

"We  don't  know,  but  they  ought  to  be  out, 
for  we  had  plenty  of  warning.  The  fire  started 
in  the  barn,  you  know." 

"What  caused  it?" 

"  They  think  one  of  the  men  must  have  been 
smoking  and  dropped  a  light  in  the  hay.  Any 
way,  the  fire  started  there." 


TO   THE  RESCUE  III 

"  The  other  fellows  took  the  auto  to  help  the 
fire  engine/'  broke  in  Sam.  "  Here  they  come 
now,"  he  added,  as  the  machine  came  up  with 
honking  horn,  and  dragging  one  of  the  fire  en 
gines  behind  it. 

"  I  wish  we  could  do  something  to  put  out  this 
blaze,"  came  from  Tom.  "  Sam,  we  must  get 
busy." 

"Right  you  are!" 

"Oh,  do  be  careful,  both  of  you!"  pleaded 
Nellie. 

"  Yes,  don't  get  burnt/'  added  Grace. 

"We'll  look  out,  don't  you  fear,"  answered 
Sam,  and  then  he  and  Tom  turned  to  join  those 
at  the  fire  engines  and  the  hose  carts. 

The  seminary  was  provided  with  several  water 
towers,  and  from  these  some  lines  of  hose  had 
already  been  run  to  the  fire.  Now  some  addi 
tional  lines  of  hose  were  laid  from  the  fire  en 
gines,  which  began  to  take  water  from  two  cis 
terns.  Soon  the  added  streams  showed  their 
effect  on  the  flames. 

"Girls!  girls!  have  any  of  you  see  Miss  Har 
row?"  The  cry  came  from  one  of  the  teachers/ 
as  she  made  her  way  through  the  crowd. 

"  Why,  isn't  she  out?  "  asked  a  number. 

"  I  don't  know,  I  can't  find  her  anywhere,"  re 
plied  the  instructor. 


112         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Was  she  in  the  building?  " 

"  I  think  so.  She  said  at  supper  time  that  she 
had  a  toothache,  and  was  going  to  retire  early." 
And  thus  speaking,  the  teacher  hurried  on. 

"  Is  that  the  Miss  Harrow  who  lost  that  four- 
hundred-dollar  diamond  ring?  "  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,"  replied  Nellie. 

"  Was  her  room  in  that  addition  ?  "  questioned 
Sam,  quickly,  pointing  to  an  end  of  the  building 
which  was  on  fire  in  several  places. 

"  Yes,  she  has  the  corner  window,  right  over 
there,"  responded  Grace,  pointing  to  a  spot  close 
to  where  the  building  was  in  flames. 

The  words  had  scarcely  left  the  lips  of  the 
girl,  when,  to  the  horror  of  those  standing  below, 
a  third  story  window  was  suddenly  thrown  up, 
and  the  head  of  a  woman  appeared. 

"  Help !  Help !  Save  me ! "  The  cry  came 
wildly  from  the  woman,  who  was  plainly  terror- 
stricken. 

"It's  Miss  Harrow!"  cried  a  score  of  voices. 

"Look!  Look!  The  fire  is  on  both  sides  of 
her!" 

"Don*t  jump!  Don't  jump!"  yelled  Tom,  at 
the  top  of  his  lungs,  and  he  saw  the  teacher  pre 
pare  to  cast  Herself  to  the  ground. 

"  Can't  you  come  down  by  the  stairs  ?  "  called 
out  Sam,  as  loudly  as  he  could. 


TO   THE  RESCUE  113 

"  I'm  afraid  to  open  the  door!  The  hall  is  full 
of  smoke  and  fire ! "  screamed  the  teacher.  "  Save 
me !  Save  me ! " 

"Haven't  they  got  a  ladder  handy?"  asked 
Tom. 

"  Sure,  we've  got  a  ladder — half  a  dozen  of' 
'em,"  responded  one  of  the  men  .who  worked 
around  the  place. 

"  Where  is  it?  Show  it  to  us,  quick ! "  put  in 
Sam. 

"All  right,  this  way,"  returned  the  man,  and 
started  off  with  Sam  at  his  heels. 

"  Don't  jump !  don't  jump !  We'll  help  you ! " 
cried  a  dozen  voices  to  the  teacher. 

"  We  are  going  to  get  a  ladder ! "  yelled  Tom. 
"  Stay  where  you  are ! " 

And  then  he  followed  the  others.  The  ladders 
were  kept  in  a  wagon  shed,  and  it  took  but  a  few 
moments  to  bring  them  out.  They  were  four  in 
number,  and  of  various  sizes. 

"I'm  afraid  none  o/  'em  is  long  enough  to> 
reach  that  winder,"  said  the  man  who  had  led 
the  way. 

"  You  are  right,"  replied  Tom.  "  But  what's^ 
the  matter  with  lashing  a  couple  of  ttiem  together? 
Here's  a  rope."  And  he  pointed  to  a  washline 
that  hung  on  a  nearby  hook. 

In  frantic  haste  a  dozen  persons  carried  the 


U4         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINE& 

ladders  to  the  burning  building.    Tom  followed 

with  the  rope,  which  he  unwound  on  the  way. 

Then  the  washline  was  cut,  and  with  it  two  of 

•  the  longest  ladders  were  lashed  together  as  quickly 

;as  possible.     Then  the  combination  ladder  was 

raised  against  the  building  and  set  close  to  the 

window,  to  the  sill  of  which  Miss  Harrow  clung. 

"  I'll  go  up  if  you  want  me  to,"  cried  Tom,  as 
he  saw  the  men  who  belonged  around  the  place 
hold  back.  "  You  steady  the  ladder  so  it  doesn't 
slip." 

"Want  me  to  help,  Tom?"  asked  Sam. 

"  No,  you  see  tkat  they  steady  the  ladder."  And 
thus  speaking,  Tom  began  to  mount  the  rungs. 

A  cheer  went  up,  but  to  this  the  youth  paid  no 
attention.  In  a  few  seconds  he  was  at  the  third 
story  window.  He  had  to  pass  through  consider 
able  smoke,  but  as  yet  the  flames  had  not  reached 
that  vicinity. 

"Come,  give  me  your  hand,  and  step  out  on 
the  ladder,"  cried  Tom  to  the  teacher. 

"  I — I  can't !  "  gasped  Miss  Harrow.  And  now 
the  youth  saw  that  she  was  almost  paralyzed  from 
fright.  She  clung  desperately  to  the  window  sill, 
evidently  unable  to  move.  Clinging  to  the  ladder 
with  his  left  hand,  Tom  placed  his  right  foot  on 
the  window  sill,  and  then  he  reached  down  and 
caught  the  teacher  under  the  arm. 


TO   THE  RESCUE  115 

"Come,  you  don't  want  to  stay  here,"  he  or 
dered,  almost  sternly,  and  pulled  the  teacher  to 
her  feet. 

"  Oh,  oh,  we'll  fall!  I  can't  do  it! "  were  her 
gasped-out  words. 

"  You've  got  to  do  it — unless  you  want  to  be 
burned  up.  Now  then,  if  you  don't  want  to  climb 
down  the  ladder,  let  me  carry  you." 

"  I — I — oh — I  can't  move ! "  And  with  these 
words,  the  teacher  sank  down  across  the  window 
sill. 

A  sudden  change  in  the  wind  drove  a  cloud  of 
smoke  into  Tom's  face,  and  for  the  moment  he 
and  the  teacher  were  hidden  from  the  view  of 
those  below. 

"Oh,  look!  Tom  will  be  burned  up!" 
screamed  Nellie. 

"  No,  he  won't,"  returned  Sam,  reassuringly. 
"  He  knows  what  he  is  doing."  Nevertheless, 
Sam  was  as  anxious  as  anyone  over  his  brother's 
safety. 

When  the  smoke  shifted,  it  was  seen  that  Tom 
-had  hauled  the  teacher  from  the  window  sill  and 
had  her  over  his  shoulder.  She  hung  down  limply, 
showing  that  she  had  lost  consciousness.  Rung 
by  rung,  the  youth  came  down  the  ladder  slowly 
with  his  burden. 

"  He's  got  her !    He's  got  her !  "  was  the  glad 


Il6         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

cry,  and  a  few  seconds  later  Tom  reached  the 
ground,  where  he  was  immediately  surrounded 
by  the  others. 

"  Oh,  Tom,  how  did  you  do  it  ?  "  cried  Nellie, 
hysterically. 

"Oh,  it  was  not  much  to  do — anybody  could 
have  done  it,"  replied  the  youth.  "  Say,  what  am 
I  to  do  with  her  ?  "  he  added,  indicating  the  bur 
den  on  his  shoulder. 

"  This  way,  please,"  said  the  teacher  who  had 
taken  charge  of  matters,  and  she  led  the  way  out 
on  the  campus  and  to  a  bench  on  which  some  of 
the  girls  had  piled  their  fancy  pillows.  Here  Miss 
Harrow  was  made  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

By  this  time  a  third  fire  engine  had  arrivexi, 
and  more  streams  were  directed  on  the  flames. 
The  ladder  was  used  by  some  of  those  at  the 
nozzle  of  one  of  the  hose  lines,  and  by  this  means 
the  fire  in  the  wing  of  the  main  building  was 
quickly  extinguished.  Nothing  could  be  done  to 
wards  saving  what  was  left  of  the  barn,  so  the 
firemen  directed  all  their  efforts  towards  keepingi 
the  conflagration  from  spreading. 

"Well,  it's  about  out,"  said  Sam,  a  little  later. 
"  Some  mess,  though,  believe  me ! " 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  thankful  it  was  not  worse ! " 
murmured  Grace.  "  Suppose  it  had  burned  down 
the  main  building!" 


TO   THE  RESCUE  117 

"  Tom,  you're  a  hero ! "  cried  Spud,  coming  up. 

"  Nothing  of  the  sort,"  retorted  Tom.  "  Any 
body  could  have  done  what  I  did,  and  you  know 
it." 

"  All  the  same,  you're  the  one  who  did  it,"  an- 
.  swered  Spud,  admiringly. 

"  He  certainly  did,"  said  one  cf  the  men  in  the 
crowd.  "  That  teacher  ought  to  be  mighty  thank- 
'ful  for  what  he  did  for  her." 

"I  don't  want  her  thanks,"  added  Tom,  in  a 
low  voice.  "All  I  want  her  to  do,  is  to  treat 
Nellie  fairly." 


CHAPTER  XII 

TOM  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND 

"  TOM,  Miss  Harrow  would  like  to  see  you." 

It  was  an  hour  later,  and  the  Rovers  and  the 
Laning  girls  had  spent  the  time  in  watching  the 
efforts  of  the  others  to  put  out  the  last  of  the  fire. 
In  the  meanwhile,  some  of  those  present  had  gone 
through  the  addition  to  the  main  building  and 
opened  the  various  windows  and  doors,  thus  let 
ting  out  the  smoke.  An  examination  proved  that 
the  damage  done  there  was  very  slight,  for  which 
the  seminary  authorities  were  thankful. 

"  Wants  to  see  me,  eh  ?  "  returned  Tom,  mus 
ingly.  "  Well,  I  don't  know  whether  I  want  to 
see  her  or  not." 

"  You  might  as  well  go,  Tom,  and  have  it  over 
with,"  suggested  Sam. 

"  If  I  go,  I  want  Nellie  to  go  along,"  returned 
the  brother.  "  I  want  her  to  know  how  I  stand 
on  this  missing-ring  question.  By  the  way,  how 
is  she,  all  right  ?  "  continued  the  youth,  address 
ing  Stanley,  who  had  brought  the  news  that  he 
was  wanted. 


TOM  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND 

"  She  seems  to  be  all  right,  although  she  is  very 
nervous.  She  says  the  reason  she  didn't  hear 
the  alarm  and  get  out  of  the  building  in  time,  was 
because  she  had  had  a  toothache  and  had  taken 
a  strong  dose  of  medicine  to  quiet  her  nerves. 
Evidently  the  medicine  put  her  into  a  sound 
sleep." 

"How  about  the  toothache?"  asked  Sam, 
slyly. 

"  Oh,  that's  gone  now ;  the  fire  scared  it  away." 

"  Where  is  she  ?  "  questioned  Tom. 

"  She  is  in  the  office  with  some  of  the  other 
teachers." 

"All  right,  if  I've  got  to  go,  I  might  as  well 
have  it  over  with.  Come  along,  Nellie." 

"  Oh,  Tom,  do  you  really  think  I  ought  to  go?  " 

"If  you  won't,  I  won't." 

"All  right,  then,"  and  arm  in  arm,  Tom  and 
Nellie  proceeded  into  the  main  building.  Nellie 
showed  the  way  to  the  office,  which  was  located 
at  the  end  of  a  long  corridor. 

"  Oh,  so  here  is  the  young  gentleman ! "  cried 
Miss  Harrow,  as  they  entered.  She  was  very 
pale,  but  did  her  best  to  compose  herself. 

"  You  sent  for  me?  "  returned  Tom,  bluntly. 

"  Yes.  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  what  you  did 
for  me.  You  are  a  very  brave  young  man.  Were 
I  able  to  do  so,  I  should  be  only  too  pleased  to 


120         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

reward  you  liberally.  But  I  am  only  a  poor 
teacher,  and " 

"I  don't  want  any  reward,  Miss  Harrow. 
What  I  did  anybody  could  have  done." 

"  Perhaps,  but "  And  now  the  teacher 

stopped  short,  for  the  first  time  noticing  NelKe's 
presence.  "  What  do  you  want  here,  Miss  Lan- 
ing?"  she  demanded,  stiffly. 

"  I  came  in  with  Mr.  Rover;  he  wanted  me  to 
come,"  was  the  answer.  And  as  the  teacher  con 
tinued  to  glare  at  her,  Nellie  clung  tightly  to 
Tom's  arm. 

"  I — I  don't  understand "  stammered  Miss 

Harrow.  She  was  evidently  much  surprised. 

"  It's  this  way,  Miss  Harrow."  answered  Tom, 
with  his  usual  bluntness.  "  Miss  Laning  and  I 
have  been  friends  for  a  great  many  years.  The 
fact  is,  we  hope — that  is,  I  hope  " — and  now  Tom 
looked  a  bit  confused — "  we'll  be  married  before 
a  great  while.  I  have  been  told  about  the  dia 
mond  ring  that  is  missing,  and  I  know  all  about 
how  you  have  treated  Nellie.  I  don't  like  it  at 
all.  I  think  you  are  doing  her  a  great  injustice." 

"  Oh ! "  The  teacher  paused  abruptly  and  bit 
her  lip.  She  glanced  from  Tom  to  Nellie  and 
then  to  the  others  who  were  in  the  office.  "  I — I 
have  not  accused  Miss  Laning  of  anything,"  she 
went  on,  rather  lamely. 


121 

"Perhaps  not  in  so  many  words.  But  you 
have  acted  as  if  you  felt  certain  she  was  guilty. 
JNow,  that  isn't  fair.  She  wouldn't  touch  anything 
that  wasn't  her  own.  It's  a  terrible  thing  to  cast 
suspicion  on  any  one.  What  would  you  say  if  I 
were  to  intimate  you  had  taken  the  four-hundred- 
dollar  ring?  " 

"  Sir ! "  and  now  the  teacher's  face  grew  red. 
"  Do  you  mean  to  insult  me  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  But  I  mean  to  stand  up  for  Miss 
Laning  first,  last,  and  all  the  time,"  replied  Tom, 
earnestly.  "  I  think  it  is  an  outrage  to  even  sus 
pect  her." 

For  a  few  seconds  there  was  an  intense  silence, 
broken  only  by  a  certain  nervous  movement  among 
the  others  in  the  office.  Miss  Harrow  bit  her  lip 
again. 

"  I — I  am  sorry  if  I  have  done  Miss  Laning  an 
injustice,"  she  said,  slowly.  "But  the  diamond 
ring  is  gone,  and  if  the  ring  is  not  recovered,  1 
may  be  held  responsible  for  it." 

"Now,  my  dear  Miss  Harrow,  pray  do  not 
agitate  yourself  too  much,"  broke  in  another  of 
the  teachers.  "  This  is  all  very  painful.  You  had 
better  drop  tfie  matter." 

"  I  am  willing  to  drop  it,"  answered  Tom,  be 
fore  Miss  Harrow  could  speak.  "  Only  I  want  it 
understood  that  Miss  Laning  is  to  be  treated  with 


122         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

the  consideration  she  deserves.  Otherwise  I  may 
suggest  to  her  father  that  she  be  taken  away  from 
this  institution  and  a  suit  for  damages  be  in 
stituted." 

"Oh,  no!  Not  that!  Not  that!"  came  from 
Miss  Harrow,  and  now  she  was  plainly  much 
frightened.  "  I  did  not  accuse  Miss  Laning  of 
anything,  and  I  do  not  accuse  her  now.  The  ring 
is  missing.  That  is  all  I  can  say  about  it." 

"  I  think  we  had  better  go,  Tom,"  whispered 
Nellie. 

"  You  may  leave,  Miss  Laning,"  said  one  of 
the  other  teachers.  "  We  have  had  trouble  enough 
for  one  night." 

"  Nellie  started  for  the  door,  and  Tom  did  the 
same;  but  before  the  youth  could  leave,  Miss  Har 
row  clutched  him  by  the  arm. 

"  Mr.  Rover,  just  a  word,"  she  said  in  a  low 
voice.  "You  did  me  a  great  service  and  I  shall 
not  forget  it.  If  I  have  done  Miss  Laning  an  in 
justice,  I  am  very  sorry  for  it."  And  having  thus 
spoken,  she  turned  back  and  sank  down  on  a 
couch.  Tom  and  Nellie  left  and  hurried  to  the 
campus,  where  they  were  speedily  rejoined  by  Sam 
and  Grace. 

"  How  did  you  make  out?  "  asked  the  younger 
Rover.  And  then  Tom  gave  the  particulars  of 
what  had  occurred. 


TOM  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND.  123 

"  Oh,  Tom,  I  am  glad  you  said  what  you  did/' 
cried  Grace,  heartily.  "  Now,  maybe,  Miss  Har 
row  will  be  more  careful  in  her  actions." 

"  Well,  I  simply  said  what  I  thought,"  answered 
Tom.  "  They  are  not  going  to  lay  anything  at; 
Nellie's  door  if  I  can  help  it." 

"  Oh,  Tom,  but  you  told  them  that— that " 

And  Nellie  grew  red  and  could  not  go  on. 

"  Well,  what  if  I  did?    It's  the  truth,  isn't  it?  " 

"What  was  that?"  asked  Sam,  curiously. 

"  Why,  I  told  them  that  Nellie  and  I  had  been 
friends  for  years  and  that,  sooner  or  later,  we 
were  going  to  be  married." 

"You  did!"  shrieked  Grace.  "Oh,  Tom 
Rover!" 

"  Folks  might  as  well  know  it,"  returned  Tom. 
"They've  got  to  know  it  when  the  affair  comes 
off." 

"  Don't  you  think  it's  about  time  you  boys 
started  back  for  college  ?  "  came  from  Nellie,  who 
was  blushing  deeply  over  the  personal  turn  which 
the  conversation  had  taken. 

"  Oh,  there's  no  great  rush,"  answered  Tom, 
coolly. 

Nevertheless,  now  that  the  conflagration  was 
over,  it  was  thought  best  by  all  the  students  to  get 
back  to  the  college,  so  a  little  later  the  crowd  wad 
rounded  up  by  Spud  and  Stanley,  and  all  climbed 


124        THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

into  the  automobile.  Sam  ran  the  car,  and  the  re 
turn  was  made  without  special  incident. 

"  Say,  Tom,  if  that  wedding  is  to  come  off  so 
soon,  perhaps  I  had  better  be  saving  up  for  a 
1  wedding  present,"  remarked  Sam,  dryly,  when  the 
'  two  brothers  were  retiring  for  the  night. 

"  I  wouldn't  advise  you  to  start  saving  up  just 
now,"  answered  his  brother.  "Better  get  some 
sleep  first."  And  then  he  playfully  shied  a  pillow 
at  Sam's  head. 

The  next  day  nearly  all  the  talk  at  Brill  was 
about  the  fire  and  what  Tom  had  done  towards 
rescuing  Miss  Harrow.  Many  insisted  upon  it 
that  Tom  had  enacted  the  part  of  a  real  hero,  and 
he  was  interviewed  by  a  local  reporter,  and  a  num 
ber  of  newspapers  printed  quite  an  item  about  the 
conflagration  and  the  part  he  had  played. 

But  the  students  had  little  time  just  now  for 
anything  outside  of  their  final  examinations. 
Many  papers  had  to  be  prepared,  and  poor  Tom 
often  wondered  how  he  would  ever  get  through 
with  any  satisfaction,  either  to  himself  or  his  in 
structors.  With  Sam,  the  task  seemed  much 
/easier,  for,  as  Dick  had  once  declared,  Sam  was 
"  a  regular  bookworm,"  and  no  studies  seemed  to 
worry  him  in  the  least. 

"If  I  get  through  at  all,  I  shall  be  lucky," 


TOM  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND  125 

vouchsafed  Tom,  after  passing  in  a  particularly 
hard  paper. 

"We'll  hope  for  the  best,"  returned  Sam. 

During  those  days  came  another  letter  from 
Dick,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  moved  in-' 
to  the  offices  vacated  by  Pelter,  Japson  &  Com 
pany,  and  was  doing  his  best  to  get  everything 
into  working  order.  He  added  that,  on  the  re 
quest  of  their  father,  he  had  disposed  of  some 
stocks,  and  in  their  stead,  had  purchased  sixty- 
four  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  bonds. 

"  My,  that's  some  bonds ! "  remarked  Sam,  on 
reading  the  letter. 

"  Well,  bonds  are  usually  much  safer  than 
stocks,  even  if  they  don't  pay  so  well,"  answered 
Tom. 

There  was  a  letter  from  their  Aunt  Martha, 
who  stated  that  their  father  did  not  seem  to  be 
quite  as  well  as  he  had  been  the  week  previous. 
She  added  that  they  had  called  in  another  doctor, 
who  had  stated,  after  an  examination,  that  there 
was  no  cause  for  alarm — that  Mr.  Rover  must 
be  kept  quiet  and  not  worried,  and  probably,  he 
would  be  his  old  self  in  another  month  or  two. 

"I  am  glad  that  the  college  is  to  shut  down 
soon,"  said  Sam,  when  he  and  his  brother  were 
discussing  this  communication.  "I  want  to  see 


126         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

dad  and  make  sure  things  are  not  worse  than 
Aunt  Martha  pictures  them." 

"  Exactly  the  way  I  feel  about  it,  Sam.  They 
may  be  holding  back  something  on  us  just  so  we 
won't  be  worried" 

Two  days  later  came  the  final  examination  for 
both  the  Rovers,  and  they  felt  much  relieved. 
Songbird  was  also  "  out  of  the  woods,"  as  he  ex 
pressed  it,  and  asked  them  if  they  did  not  want 
to  join  him  and  Spud  in  a  short  row  on  the 
river. 

"  That  suits  me,"  cried  Tom.  "  I  want  to  get 
out  into  the  air  somewhere.  I  am  done  with 
classrooms  forever.  If  it  was  not  for  the  look 
of  things,  I  would  be  turning  handsprings  on  the 
campus." 

"  Ditto,"  added  Sam. 

"  Well,  come  on,"  said  Songbird.  And  a  few 
minutes  later  the  four  students  were  down  at 
the  boathouse,  getting  out  one  of  the  four-oared 
boats. 

"  Say,  Songbird,  I  should  think  this  would  put 
you  in  the  rhyming  fever,"  said  Sam,  as  the  four 
\  feds  rowed  out  on  the  river. 

"  It  does,"  returned  the  would-be  poet. 

"  All  right,  turn  on  the  verse  spigot  and  let  us 
have  the  latest  effusion,"  cried  Tom,  gaily. 

"The  verses  aren't  finished  yet,"   answered 


TOM  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND  127 

Songbird.  And  then  resting  his  oar,  he  drew 
from  his  pocket  a  slip  of  paper  and  began  to 
read: 

"The  terms  is  passed, 
Away  we  cast 

Otir  books  and  papers  with  great  glee. 
No  more  we'll  train 
Each  tired  brain " 

"Instead,  well  cheer  because  we're  free!" 

concluded  Tom. 

"  Say,  that  isn't  half  bad,"  broke  out  Song 
bird,  enthusiastically.  "  I  was  going  to  put  in 
something  about  flee " 

"  For  gracious  sake !  What  have  fleas  to  do 
with  this  poetry  ?  "  interposed  Tom. 

"Fleas!  Who  said  anything  about  fleas?" 
snorted  Songbird.  "  I  said  '  flee/  f-l-e-e." 

"  Oh,  I  see ! "  That's  the  flee  that  fled,  not  the 
flea  who  refuses  to  flee,"  went  on  Tom.  And 
at  this  sally,  the  other  boys  laughed. 

"  Never  mind,  give  us  the  rest  of  it,"  put  in 
Spud. 

" There  isn't  any  'rest' — not  yet,"  answered! 
the  would-be  poet.  And  then  the  boys  resumed 
the  row  up  the  river. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

AT    THE    FARM 

"ALL  aboard  who  are  going!  We  haven't 
any  time  to  spare  if  you  want  to  catch  that  nine- 
fifteen  train." 

"  Good-bye,  Tom,  don't  forget  to  write." 

"  Say,  Spud,  when  you  get  down  to  the  Maine 
coast,  don't  eat  too  many  lobsters." 

"And  that  puts  me  in  mind,  Stanley.  When 
you  reach  the  Grand  Canyon,  send  me  a  piece 
of  rock ;  I  want  to  see  how  the  Canyon  looks." 

"Say,  whose  baseball  mitt  is  this  anyway?" 
And  following  this  question,  the  mitt  came  sail 
ing  through  the  air,  to  land  on  the  floor  of  the 
Brill  carryall. 

"  Please  get  off  of  my  feet !  "  The  wail  came 
(from  William  Philander  Tubbs,  who  was  sitting 
iin  a  corner  with  another  student  partly  on  his 
lap. 

"  Everybody  shove,  and  we'll  be  off !  "  cried  an 
other  student,  merrily. 

Then  came  a  great  mixture  of  cries  and  whis- 
128 


AT   THE  FARM  129 

ties,  intermingled  with  the  tooting  of  horns  and 
the  sounding  of  rattles,  in  the  midst  of  which 
there  moved  from  the  Brill  grounds  several  car 
riages  and  an  equal  number  of  automobiles. 

The  term  had  come  to  an  end,  and  the  students' 
were  preparing  to  scatter.  The  majority  were 
going  home,  but  others  had  planned  to  go  directly 
to  the  summer  resorts  where  they  were  to  spend 
their  vacations. 

"  Good-bye,  Brill ! "  sang  out  Tom,  and,  for 
once,  his  voice  was  a  trifle  husky.  Now  that  he: 
was  leaving  the  college  not  to  return,  a  sudden 
queer  sensation  stole  over  the  youth.  He  looked, 
at  his  brother,  and  then  turned  his  gaze  away. 

"  Never  mind,  Tom,"  said  Sam,  softly.  "  If  I 
come  back,  as  I  expect,  you'll  have  to  come  and 
visit  me." 

Hope  Seminary  was  not  to  close  until  the  week 
following,  and  the  evening  before  the  Rovers 
had  visited  Grace  and  Nellie.  From  them,  Sam 
and  Tom  had  heard  news  that  interested  them 
greatly.  This  was  to  the  effect  that  Dora  had 
invited  her  cousins  to  visit  her  in  New  York, 
City  some  time  during  the  vacation. 

"That  will  be  fine!"  Tom  had  cried.  "You 
come  when  Sam  and  I  are  there,  and  well  do 
all  we  can  to  give  you  the  best  kind  of  a  time.'* 
And  so  it  had  been  arranged. 


130         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

The  boys  and  their  friends  were  in  the  Rover 

towing  car.    This  machine,  it  had  been  decided, 

was  to  remain  at  the  college  garage,  in  care  of 

Abner  Filbury.    Abner  was  now  driving,  so  that 

Jthe  boys  were  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  pleased. 

"Let's  give  'em  a  song,"  suggested  Stanley, 
and  the  boys  sang  one  college  song  after  another, 
the  tunes  being  caught  up  by  those  in  the  other 
turnouts.  Thus  they  rolled  up  to  the  railroad 
station  in  Ashton.  Then  the  train  came  in,  and 
afl  the  young  collegians  lost  no  time  in  getting 
aboard. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  my  dear  William  Phi 
lander?  "  asked  Tom,  of  the  dudish  student,  who 
sat  in  front  of  him. 

"  I  am  going  to  Atlantic  City,"  was  the  some 
what  stiff  reply,  for  William  Philander  had  not 
forgotten  the  ducking  in  the  river. 

"Atlantic  City!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "Of 
course,  you  are  not  going  in  bathing?  " 

"  To  be  sure  I  am !  I  have  a  brand  new  bath 
ing  suit  ordered.  It  is  dark  blue,  with  pin  stripes 

•^running " 

.     "But  see  here,  Billy!    If  you  go  in  bathing 
at  Atlantic  City  this  season,  you'll  be  chewed  up." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  And  now  the  dudish 
student  seemed  interested. 

"  Haven't  you  heard  about  the  sea  serpents 


AT  THE  FARM  131 

they  have  seen  at  Atlantic  City?"  demanded 
Tom, — "  four  or  five  of  them."  And  he  poked 
Sam,  who  sat  beside  him,  in  the  ribs;  and  also 
winked  at  Spud,  who  was  in  the  seat  with  Wil 
liam  Philander. 

"That's  right,  Tubbs,"  put  in  Sam.  "Why, 
they  say  some  of  those  sea  serpents  are  twenty 
feet  long." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  heard  about  them,  too,"  added 
Spud,  and  now  he  braced  himself  for  one  of  his 
usual  yarns.  "  Why,  they  tell  me  that  one  after 
noon  the  sea  serpents  came  in  so  thickly  among 
the  bathers  that  it  was  hard  for  them — I  mean 
those  in  bathing — to  tell  which  was  sand  and 
which  was  serpents.  Some  of  the  serpents 
crawled  up  on  the  boardwalk,  and  even  got  into 
some  of  the  stores  and  hotels.  They  had  to 
order  out  the  police,  and  then  the  fire  depart 
ment,  and,  finally,  some  of  the  soldiers  had  to 
come  down  from  the  rifle  ranges  with  a  Catling 
gun.  You  never  heard  of  such  a  battle !  Some 
body  said  they  killed  as  many  as  ninety-seven  sea 
serpents,  and  not  less  than  three  hundred  got 
away.  Why,  William  Philander,  I  wouldn't  go 
within  twenty-five  miles  of  Atlantic  City  if  I 
(were  you,"  concluded  Spud. 

"  Oh,  how  ridiculous !  "  responded  the  dudish 
student.  Nevertheless,  he  looked  much  worried. 


I32         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Of  course,  they  do  report  a  sea  serpent  now 
and  then." 

"Well,  you  haven't  got  to  believe  it,  Billy," 
answered  Tom.  "  At  the  same  time,  you'll  be  a 
fine  specimen  of  a  college  boy  if  you  come  back 
next  Fall  minus  an  arm  and  a  leg.  How  on  earth 
are  you  going  to  any  of  the  fashionable  dances 
in  that  condition?"  And  at  this,  there  was  a 
general  snicker,  in  the  midst  of  which  William 
Philander  arose,  caught  up  his  dresssuit  case, 
and  fled  to  another  car. 

"  You  can  bet  that  will  hold  William  Philander 
for  awhile,"  remarked  Sam.  "He  won't  dare 
to  put  as  much  as  a  toe  in  the  water  at  Atlantic 
City  until  he  is  dead  sure  it  is  safe." 

"  Humph !  William  Philander  isn't  one  of  the 
kind  to  go  into  the  water,"  sniffed  Tom.  "  He 
belongs  to  the  crowd  that  get  into  fancy  bathing 
costumes,  and  then  parades  up  and  down  on  the 
sand,  just  to  be  admired." 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Junction  was 
reached,  and  here  the  Rovers  had  to  part  from 
a  number  of  their  friends.  'A  fifteen-minute 
wait,  and  then  their  train  came  along.  It  was 
not  more  than  half  full,  so  the  students  had  all 
the  room  they  desired. 

"I  must  say,  the  farm  will  look  pretty  good 


AT  THE  FARM  133 

to  me,"  remarked  Tom,  when  the  time  came  for 
them  to  collect  their  belongings. 

"I  want  to  see  dad,"  returned  his  younger 
brother. 

"  Oh,  so  do  I." 

'  "  Oak  Run !  All  out  for  Oak  Run ! "  It  was 
the  well-known  cry  of  the  brakeman  as  the  train 
rolled  into  the  station  where  the  Rovers  were  to 
alight. 

"  Good-bye,  everybody ! "  sang  out  both  Sam 
and  Tom,  and,  baggage  in  hand,  they  hurried  to 
the  station  platform.  Then  the  train  went  on 
its  way,  leaving  them  behind. 

The  boys  had  sent  a  message  ahead,  stating 
when  they  would  arrive,  and,  consequently,  Jack 
Ness,  the  hired  man,  was  on  hand  with  the  fam 
ily  touring  car.  < 

"  Back  safe  and  sound,  eh?  Glad  to  see  yer ! " 
cried  the  hired  man,  as  they  approached,  and  he 
touched  his  cap. 

"  And  we  are  glad  to  be  back,  Jack,"  returned 
Tom,  and  added  quickly:  "  How  is  my  father?  " 

"  Oh,  he's  doin'  as  well  as  can  be  expected, 
Mr.  Tom.  The  doctors  say  he  has  got  to  keep 
quiet.  Your  Aunt  Martha  said  to  warn  both  of 
you  not  to  excite  him." 

"  Is  he  in  bed  ?  "  questioned  Sam. 


134 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 


"  Not  exactly.  He  sits  up  in  his  easy  chair. 
He  can't  do  much  walkin'  around." 

While  talking,  the  boys  had  thrown  their  be 
longings  into  the  car.  Tom  took  the  wheel,  with 
Sam  beside  him,  leaving  the  hired  man  to  get  in 
among  the  baggage.  Then  away  they  rolled, 
over  the  little  bridge  that  spanned  the  river  and 
connected  the  railroad  station  with  the  village  of 
Dexter's  Corners.  Then,  with  a  swerve  that  sent 
Jack  Ness  up  against  the  side  of  the  car,  they 
struck  into  the  country  road  leading  to  Valley 
Brook  Farm,  their  home. 

"Looks  good,  doesn't  it?"  remarked  Sam,  as 
they  rolled  along,  past  well-kept  farms  and 
through  a  pleasant  stretch  of  woodland. 

"  Yes,  it  looks  good  and  is  good,"  returned 
Tom,  with  satisfaction.  "The  college  and  the 
city  are  all  right  enough,  Sam,  but  I  don't  go 
back  on  dear  old  Valley  Brook ! " 

"  How  the  country  around  here  has  changed 
since  the  time  when  we  moved  here,"  went  on 
Sam.  "Do  you  remember  those  days,  Tom?" 

"  Do  I  remember  them  ?  Well,  I  guess !  And 
how  Uncle  Randolph  used  to  be  annoyed  at  what 
we  did."  And  Tom  smiled  grimly. 

Another  turn  or  two,  and  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  first  of  the  farm  fields.  Then  they 
reached  the  long  lane  leading  to  the  commodious 


AT  THE  FARM  135 

farmhouse,  and  Tom  began  to  sound  the  auto 
mobile  horn. 

"  There  is  Uncle  Randolph ! "  cried  Sam, 
pointing  to  the  upper  end  of  the  lane. 

"  Yes,  and  there  is  Aunt  Martha,"  added  Tom, 
as  a  figure  stepped  out  on  the  farmhouse  piazza.. 
Then  both  of  the  boys  waved  their  hands  vigor 
ously. 

"  Back  again,  eh ! "  cried  Uncle  Randolph, 
when  the  car  had  been  brought  to  a  stop.  "  Glad 
to  see  you,  boys,"  and  he  shook  hands. 

"  Back  again,  and  right  side  up  with  care ! " 
exclaimed  Tom.  He  made  one  leap  up  the  piazza, 
steps,  and  caught  his  aunt  in  his  arms.  "  How 
are  you,  Aunt  Martha  ?  Why,  I  declare,  you  are 
getting  younger  and  better  looking  every  day!" 
and  he  kissed  her  heartily. 

"  Oh,  Tom,  my  dear,  don't  smother  me ! " 
gasped  the  aunt.  Yet  she  looked  tremendously 
pleased  as  she  gazed  at  him.  Then  Sam  came  in 
for  a  hug  and  a  kiss. 

"You  mustn't  be  too  boisterous,"  whispered 
Uncle  Randolph,  when  all  started  to  enter  the 
•house.  "  Remember,  your  father  isn't  as  strong 
as  he  might  be." 

"  Where  is  he  ?  "  both  boys  wanted  to  know. 

"  He  is  up  in  the  wing  over  the  dining-room/' 
answered  their  aunt.  "We  thought  that  would 


136         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

be  the  nicest  place  for  him.  The  window  has  a 
fine  outlook,  you'll  remember." 

"  Can  we  go  up  now  ?  "  questioned  Tom. 

"Yes,  but  remember,  do  not  say  anything  to 
excite  him." 

"  All  right,  we'll  be  careful/'  came  from  Sam. 
And  then  both  lads  cast  aside  their  caps  and  hur 
ried  up  the  stairs. 

Mr.  Anderson  Rover  sat  in  an  easy  chair,  at 
tired  in  his  dressing  gown.  He  looked  thin  and 
pale,  but  his  face  lit  up  with  a  smile  as  his  eyes 
rested  on  his  two  sons. 

"  Dad ! "  was  the  only  word  each  could  utter. 
And  then  they  caught  him  by  either  hand,  and 
looked  at  him  fondly. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,  boys,"  said  their 
father,  in  a  low  but  clear  voice.  "  It  seems  like 
a  long  while  since  you  went  away." 

"And  we  have  missed  you  a  great  deal!" 
broke  out  Sam.  It's  too  bad  you  don't  feel 
better." 

"Oh,  I  think  I'll  get  over  it  in  time,"  an 
swered  Mr.  Rover.  "  But  the  doctors  tell  me  I 
must  go  slow.  I  wouldn't  mind  that  so  much,  if 
it  wasn't  for  Dick.  I  think  he  ought  to  have 
some  help." 

"  Now,  don't  you  worry,  Dad,"  interposed 
Tom,  gently.  "  You  just  leave  everything  to  us. 


AT  THE  FARM  137 

We  are  both  going  to  New  York  to  help  Dick 
straighten  out  matters,  and  it  will  be  all  right,  I 
am  sure."  And  he  stroked  his  father's  shoulder 
affectionately. 

"But  you'll  have  to  go  back  to  college " 

began  the  invalid. 

"  Sam  is  going  back.  I  am  going  to  help  Dick, 
and  stay  with  him.  Now,  don't  say  anything 
against  it,  Dad,  for  it  is  all  settled,"  went  on 
Tom,  as  his  father  tried  to  speak  again.  "  I 
don't  care  to  go  back.  I  think  Dick  and  I  were 
cut  out  for  business  men.  Sam  is  the  learned 
member  of  this  family." 

"Well,  boys,  have  your  own  way;  you  are 
old  enough  to  know  what  you  are  doing."  And 
now  Mr.  Rover  sank  back  in  the  chair,  for  even 
this  brief  conversation  had  almost  exhausted 
him. 


CHAPTER 

A  STARTLING  SCENE 

"DEAR  old  dad!  Isn't  it  awful  to  see  him 
propped  up  in  that  chair,  unable  to  leave  his 
room ! " 

"You  are  right,  Sam.  And  yet  it  might  be 
worse — he  might  be  confined  to  his  bed.  I  hope 
we  didn't  excite  him  too  much." 

"  He  was  very  much  surprised  at  your  deter 
mination  to  give  up  Brill,  and  join  Dick.  I  guess 
he  was  afraid  Dick  would  have  to  shoulder  the 
business  alone.  And  by  the  way,  Tom,"  went  on 
the  youngest  Rover,  earnestly,  "somehow  it 
doesn't  seem  just  right  to  me  that  I  should  put 
all  this  work  off  on  you  and  Dick." 

"  Now,  don't  let  that  bother  you,  Sam.  You 
can  go  to  New  York  with  me  this  Summer,  and 
then  you  go  back  to  college,  and  come  out  at, 
the  head  of  the  class.  That  will  sorely  please  us 
all." 

This  conversation  took  place  while  tfce  twd 
boys  were  retiring  for  the  night.    They  had  not; 
138 


A  STARTLING  SCENE  139 

remained  very  long  with  their  father,  fearing 
to  excite  him  too  much.  Aunt  Martha  had,  as 
usual,  had  a  very  fine  repast  prepared  for  them, 
and  to  this,  it  is  perhaps  needless  to  state,  the 
youths  did  full  justice. 

"  It's  a  grand  good  thing  that  we  have  Aleck 
Pop  with  us,"  went  on  Sam,  referring  to  the 
colored  man,  who,  in  years  gone  by,  had  been  a 
waiter  at  Putnam  Hall,  but  who  was  now  firmly 
established  as  a  member  of  the  Rover  household. 
"Aunt  Martha  says  he  waits  on  dad,  hand  and 
foot;  morning,  noon  and  night." 

"  Well,  Aleck  ought  to  be  willing  to  do  some 
thing  for  this  family  in  return  for  all  we  have 
done  for  him,"  answered  Tom. 

Despite  the  excitement  of  the  day,  the  two 
boys  slept  soundly.  But  they  were  up  at  an  early 
hour,  and,  after  breakfast,  took  a  walk  around 
the  farm  in  company  with  their  Uncle  Randolph, 
who  wished  to  show  them  the  various  improve 
ments  he  had  made. 

"We  have  a  new  corncrib  and  a  new  root 
hovel,"  said  their  uncle,  as  they  walked  around. 
"  And  next  week  we  are  going  to  start  on  a  new 
pigsty." 

"  Going  to  have  one  of  those  new  up-to-date, 
clean  ones,  I  suppose?"  returned  Sam. 

"Yes.     I  do  not  think  that  it  is  at  all  neces- 


140         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

sary  to  keep  pigs  as  d'irty  as  they  are  usually 
kept,"  returned  Uncle  Randolph. 

"  Say,  Uncle,"  put  in  Tom,  with  a  sudden 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  "are  you  going  to  sell  pork 
by  the  yard  after  this?" 

"  By  the  yard  ?  "  queried  Uncle  Randolph,  and 
then  a  faint  smile  flickered  over  his  face.  "  Oh, 
I  see!  You  mean  sausage  lengths,  eh?" 

"  Not  exactly,  although  that  is  one  way  of 
selling  pork  by  the  yard,"  returned  Tom.  "  I 
was  thinking  of  what  happened  in  our  college 
town.  One  of  the  boys  went  into  a  butcher's 
shop,  and  asked  for  a  yard  of  pork,  and  the 
butcher  handed  out  three  pig's  feet." 

"  Oh,  what  a  rusty  joke,  Tom ! "  exclaimed 
Sam. 

"Well,  I  didn't  ask  for  the  yard  of  pork;  it 
was  Dobson  who  did  that,"  returned  Tom,  coolly. 

Having  inspected  the  various  improvements, 
the  boys  returned  to  the  house,  and  then  went 
upstairs  for  another  short  talk  with  their  father. 
In  the  midst  of  this,  the  family  physician  arrired. 
When  he  had  waited  on  the  invalid,  the  boys 
called  the  doctor  to  one  side,  and  asked  him  to 
tell  them  the  truth  regarding  their  parent. 

"  Oh,  I  think  he'll  pull  through  all  right,"  said 
the  doctor.  "  But  as  I  have  told  your  uncle  and 
your  aunt,  he  must  be  kept  quitt.  If  you  talk 


A   STARTLING   SCENE  141 

business  to  him,  or  excite  him  in  any  way,  it  is 
bound  to  make  matters  worse." 

"Then  we'll  keep  him  just  as  quiet  as  possi 
ble,"  returned  Tom.  "  If  anything  unusual 
occurs  in  his  business,  we  won't  let  him  know 
anything  about  it." 

"That  would  be  best,"  answered  the  doctor, 
gravely;  and  took  his  departure. 

Several  days  passed,  and  by  that  time  the  boys 
felt  once  more  quite  at  home.  Once  they  went 
out  in  the  touring  car,  taking  their  aunt  and 
uncle  along. 

"It's  too  bad  we  can't  take  dad,"  was  Sam's 
comment,  "but  the  doctor  says  it  won't  do. 
We'll  have  to  leave  him  in  charge  of  Aleck." 
The  ride  proved  a  most  enjoyable  one,  and  the 
older  folks  were  much  pleased  by  it. 

"What  do  you  say,  Tom,  if  we  go  down  to 
the  river  and  have  a  swim?"  proposed  Sam,  the 
next  morning.  It  was  an  unusually  hot  day,  and 
the  thought  of  getting  into  the  cool  water  of  the 
old  swimming  hole  appealed  strongly  to  the 
youth. 

"  Suits  me,"  returned  his  brother.  "  We 
haven't  had  a  swim  down  there  since  last  year." 

"You  young  gents  want  to  be  careful  about 
that  there  swimmin'  hole,"  put  in  Jade  Ness, 
who  had  heard  the  talk. 


142         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter  now,  Jack?  " 

"  I  dunno,  exactly,  but  I  hear  some  of  the 
fellers  say  in'  as  how  that  swimmin'  hole  wasn't 
safe  no  more.  I  think  it's  on  account  of  the 
tree  roots  a  growin'  there." 

"  We'll  be  on  our  guard,"  answered  Sam,  and 
a  little  later  the  two  lads  set  off.  It  was  a  long 
walk  over  the  fields  and  through  the  patch  of 
woods  skirting  the  stream,  and  on  arriving  at 
the  old  swimming  hole,  Sam  and  Tom  were  glad 
enough  to  rest  awhile  before  venturing  into  the 
water.  As  my  old  readers  know,  the  stream 
was  a  swiftly-flowing  one,  and  the  water  was 
rather  cool. 

"  Remember  the  day  we  flew  over  this  way  in 
the  biplane  ?  "  said  Tom.  "  That  sure  was  some 
adventure ! " 

"  Yes,  but  it  wasn't  a  patch  to  the  adventure 
we  had  when  the  biplane  was  wrecked,"  returned 
his  brother,  referring  to  a  happening  which  has 
been  related  in  detail  in  "The  Rover  Boys  in 
New  York." 

Having  rested  awhile,  the  two  boys  started  to 
get  ready  for  their  swim.  Both  had  just  thrown 
off  their  coats,  when  there  came  a  sudden  cry 
from  up  the  river. 

"What's  that,  Tom?"  questioned  Sam. 

"  Somebody   is   calling.     Listen ! "   and  then 


A  STARTLING  SCENE 


143 


both  boys  strained  their  ears  for  what  might 
follow. 

"  There !    Stay  where  you  are !    Don't  move ! " 

"  I  can't  stay  here,"  said  another  voice. 

"Shall  I  shoot  him  now?"  put  in  a  heavy 
bass  voice. 

"  No,  wait  a  minute,  I  am  coming  over,"  said 
still  another  voice,  and  then  there  was  silence. 
The  Rover  boys  looked  at  each  other  in  amaze 
ment.  What  did  the  talk  mean? 

"  Say,  sounds  to  me  as  if  somebody  was  in 
trouble ! "  exclaimed  Sam. 

"  Perhaps  we  had  better  go  and  see,"  returned 
Tom. 

"All  right,  but  we  don't  want  to  get  into 
trouble  ourselves.  Those  fellows,  whoever  they 
are,  or  at  least  one  of  them,  seems  to  be 
armed." 

"We'll  take  a  few  stones  along,  Sam,  and  a 
couple  of  sticks,  too,  if  we  can  find  them." 

Stones  were  to  be  had  in  plenty,  and  having 
picked  up  several  of  them,  and  cast  their  eyes 
around  for  a  couple  of  clubs,  the  lads  lost  no, 
time  in  making  their  way  towards  the  spot  from* 
whence  the  voices  had  proceeded.  This  was  at 
a  point  where  the  river  made  a  turn  and  was 
divided  by  a  long,  narrow  island  into  two  chan 
nels.  The  island  was  covered  with  brushwood, 


144        THB  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

while  the  banks  of  the  stream  were  lined  with 
overhanging  trees. 

"  Now,  I  am  going  to  shoot  him ! "  cried  one 
of  the  voices  which  the  boys  had  heard  before. 

"  No,  don't  do  it,  just  wait  a  minute ! "  an 
swered  some  one  else. 

"  Maybe  they  have  got  some  poor  fellow,  and 
have  robbed  him,"  suggested  Sam,  as  he  and  his 
brother  hurried  forward  as  quickly  as  the  trees 
and  tangled  brushwood  would  permit. 

"  One  thing  is  certain,  that  fellow,  whoever 
he  is,  is  in  trouble,"  returned  Tom.  "  Perhapa 
we  had  better  yell  to  those  other  fellows  to 
stop." 

"  If  we  do  that,  they  may  shoot  the  poor  chap, 
and  then  run  away." 

"That's  so,  too!  Well,  come  ahead,  let's 
hurry  and  see  if  we  can  catch  sight  of  them." 
And  then  the  two  boys  pushed  ahead  faster  than 
ever. 

Presently  the  youths  came  to  where  there  were 
a  number  of  high  rocks  covered  with  trailing 
vines.  As,  to  avoid  these,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  wade  in  the  stream,  and  thus  get 
their  shoes  and  stockings  wet,  they  began  to 
scramble  over  the  rocks  with  all  possible  speed. 

"  Listen !  They  are  talking  again ! "  exclaimed 
Sam. 

"  Grab  him !    Grab  him  by  the  throat !  " 


A  STARTLING  SCENE  145 

"That's  all  right,  Jim,  but  I  don't  want  the 
boat  to  upset,"  growled  another  voice. 

"  Say,  you  fellows  make  me  tired ! "  roared  the 
heavy  bass  voice.  "Do  you  want  to  keep  us 
here  all  day  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  know  about  this  gun  ?  Maybe 
it  will  explode." 

"  Say,  Sam,  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of 
this ! "  panted  Tom,  who  was  almost  out  of 
breath  from  the  violence  of  his  exertion. 

"  Maybe  they  are  tramps,  and  are  holding 
somebody  up.  Anyway,  it  sounds  bad,"  returned 
his  brother. 

Hauling  themselves  at  last  to  the  top  of  the 
rocks,  the  Rover  boys  looked  ahead.  Down  in 
the  swiftly-flowing  stream,  they  saw  a  flat-bot 
tom  boat  containing  two  men.  One  man,  a  tall, 
burly  individual,  had  a  m«ch  smaller  fellow  by 
the  throat,  and  was  bending  him  backward.  Close 
at  hand,  on  the  shore,  stood  another  man,  gun  in 
hand,  and  with  the  weapon  aimed  at  the  burly 
individual. 

"  Now  then,  shoot ! "  yelled  somebody  from 
the  shore  of  the  island  opposite,  and  an  instant 
later  the  gun  went  off  with  a  bang.  As  the 
report  died  away,  the  burly  man  in  the  boat  re 
laxed  his  hold  on  the  other  fellow,  threw  up  his 
arms,  and  fell  over  into  the  river  with  a  loud 
splash. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE 

THE  Rover  boys  were  horrified  by  what  they 
saw,  and  for  the  instant  they  neither  moved  nor 
spoke.  They  saw  the  small  man  in  the  boat 
look  over  the  side  into  the  stream  where  his 
assailant  had  plunged  from  sight,  then  this  fel 
low  caught  up  a  single  oar  that  remained  in  the 
craft,  and  commenced  to  paddle  quickly  to  shore. 

"Oh,  Tom,  they  have  killed  him!"  gasped 
Sam,  on  recovering  from  the  shock. 

"  It  certainly  looks  like  it,  Sam,"  returned 
Tom.  "If  he  wasn't  shot  dead,  he  must  be 
drowned.  Come  on!"  and,  heedless  of  possible 
danger,  Tom  scrambled  down  from  the  rocks 
and  hurried  towards  the  men,  with  Sam  close 
behind  him.  They  had  not  yet  reached  the  pair 
on  the  river  bank,  when,  to  their  amazement; 
they  saw  the  burly  individual  who  had  gone  over 
board,  reappear  at  a:  point  further  down  the 
stream.  He  was  swimming  lustily  for  shore. 

"Hello!     He  can't  be  so  badly  hurt!"  ex 
claimed  Tom.    "  Look  at  him  strike  out ! " 
146 


A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE  147 

"Maybe  he  was  only  scared,  and  went  over 
board  to  escape  a  second  shot/'  suggested  Sam. 

"  Hi !  you  fellows  over  there ! "  yelled  the  man 
ytho  carried  the  gun.  "Was  that  all  right?  " 

"  It  looked  so  to  me,  although  you  were  a  little 
slow  about  it,"  came  from  the  shore  of  the  isl 
and;  and  now,  glancing  in  that  direction,  Sam 
and  Tom  saw  two  men.  One  had  what  looked 
to  be  a  megaphone  in  his  hand,  and  the  second 
stood  behind  a  high,  thin  camera  with  a  handle 
attached,  set  on  a  tripod.  At  the  sight  of  the 
camera,  both  youths  stopped  short.  Then  Tom 
looked  at  his  brother  and  began  to  snicker. 

"Sold!    What  do  you  think  of  that,  Sam?" 

"  Why,  they  are  only  taking  a  moving  pic 
ture  ! "  exclaimed  the  younger  Rover.  "  Talk 
about  a  sell,  Tom!  That's  one  on  us." 

"  Don't  let  them  know  how  we  were  sold,"  re 
turned  the  brother,  quickly.  "If  it  leaked  out 
we'd  never  hear  the  end  of  it." 
'  "  Right  you  are !  Mum's  the  word ! "  And  it 
may  be  added  here  that  the  boys  kept  their  word, 
and  said  nothing  to  those  at  home  about  how 
they  had  been  fooled. 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  man  in  the  boat 
and  the  fellow  with  the  gun,  the  individual  who 
had  gone  overboard  was  coming  up  the  river 
bank,  dripping  water  with  every  step. 


148         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Say,  was  that  all  right?"  he  demanded,  as 
he  stripped  off  his  coat  and  wrung  the  water 
from  it.  "  I  hope  it  was,  because  I  don't  want 
to  go  through  that  again,  not  even  for  the  extra 
five  dollars." 

"  So  you  are  taking  moving  pictures,"  re 
marked  Tom,  pleasantly.  "That  was  sure  a 
great  scene." 

"Oh,  so  you  saw  it,  did  you?"  returned  the 
man  with  a  gun.  "  I  thought  we  were  here  all 
alone,"  and  he  did  not  seem  to  be  particularly 
pleased  over  the  boys'  arrival. 

"  Going  to  take  some  more  pictures  here  ?  " 
questioned  Sam. 

"That's  our  business,"  answered  the  man  in 
the  boat,  crustily. 

"Well,  maybe  it's  ours,  too,"  returned  the 
youngest  Rover,  quickly,  not  liking  the  manner 
in  which  he  had  been  addressed.  "  This  land 
belongs  to  my  folks." 

"Oh,  is  that  it?"  cried  the  man,  and  now  he 
looked  a  bit  more  pleasant.  "Are  you  the 
Rovers?" 

"Yes." 

"  No,  we  are  about  done  with  our  picture  talc 
ing  in  this  vicinity,"  continued  the  man  in  the 
boat.  The  next  picture  in  this  series  is  to  be  at 
the  railroad  station  at  Oak  Run." 


A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE  149 

"Say,  I  would  like  to  get  into  some  of  those 
movies,"  remarked  Tom.  "I  imagine  it  would 
be  a  lot  of  fun." 

"  Not  if  you've  got  to  go  overboard  as  I  did," 
grumbled  the  man  who  was  wet.  "  Talk  about 
the  strenuous  life,  this  takes  the  cake!  Why,  in 
the  past  ten  days,  I  have  gone  over  a  cliff,  res 
cued  two  women  from  a  burning  tenement  house, 
climbed  a  rope  hanging  from  a  burning  balloon, 
and  fallen  off  a  moving  freight  car.  Can  you 
beat  that  for  action?  " 

"  Certainly  some  stunts ! "  answered  Tom. 
"But  one  must  get  a  lot  of  fun  out  of  it." 

"Oh,  sure!  Especially  when  one  of  the  wom 
en  you  are  saving  from  the  burning  house  gets 
nervous  for  fear  the  flames  will  reach  her,  and 
grabs  you  by  the  ear  and  nearly  pulls  it  off," 
growled  the  moving  picture  actor. 

"Say!"  yelled  the  man  with  the  megaphone. 
"  Aren't  you  coming  over  here  to  get  us  ?  " 

"Of  course,"  returned  the  man  in  the  boat, 

hastily.    "  Bill,  give  me  that  other  oar,"  he  went 

on,  and  having  secured  the  blade,  he  lost  no  time 

k  in  rowing  over  to  the  island.  In  the  meanwhile, 

'  the  fellow  with  the  camera  had  dismounted  the 

moving  picture  machine  and  folded  up  the  tripod, 

and  was  ready  to  depart. 

"Would  you  mind  telling  me  what  this  pic- 


150         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

ture  is  going  to  be  called?"  asked  Sam.  "We 
would  like  to  know  so,  if  we  see  it  advertised 
anywhere,  we  can  take  a  look  at  it." 

"  This  is  scene  twenty-eight  from  *  His  Last 
Chance,'  "  answered  the  man  with  the  gun. 

"  All  right,  we'll  take  a  chance  on  '  His  Last 
Chance '  when  we  get  the  chance,"  answered 
Tom  with  a  grin,  and  at  this  play  on  words  the 
moving  picture  men  smiled.  Soon  they  had 
packed  all  their  belongings,  and,  getting  into  the 
boat,  they  started  down  the  stream  for  a  landing 
some  distance  below. 

"  We're  a  fine  set  of  heroes,"  remarked  Sam, 
grinningly,  as  he  and  Tom  walked  back  in  the 
direction  of  the  swimming  hole.  "Wouldn't 
it  have  been  rich  if  we  had  rushed  in  to  save 
that  fellow  in  the  boat,  and  spoiled  the  picture." 

"Don't  mention  it,  Sam,"  pleaded  Tom. 
"  That  sure  was  one  on  us."  And  then  both 
laughed  heartily  over  the  way  they  had  been 
fooled. 

Reaching  the  swimming  hole,  it  did  not  take 
the  youths  long  to  get  into  the  water.  Remem 
bering  what  Jack  Ness  had  said  about  being 
careful,  they  moved  around  cautiously. 

"Here  is  a  tree  root  that  ought  to  be  re 
moved,"  remarked  Sam,  after  diving  down.  "  & 
fellow  could  easily  catch  fast  on  it." 


A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE  151 

"  Maybe  we  had  better  put  up  a  danger  sign," 
suggested  his  brother,  and  getting  out  a  note 
book  he  carried,  he  tore  a  page  from  it  and  wrote 
as  follows: 

DANGER! 
LOOK  OUT  FOR  THE  TREE  ROOTS! 

"  There !  That  ought  to  do  some  good,"  he 
went  on,  as  he  pinned  the  notice  fast  to  the 
nearest  tree  trunk.  The  boys  enjoyed  their  swim 
thoroughly.  They  indulged  in  many  monkey- 
shines,  and  also  had  a  little  race  to  the  opposite 
bank  and  back.  This  race  was  won  by  Tom, 
but  Sam  proved  a  very  close  second. 

"Now  then,  I  guess  we  had  better  hurry 
home,  or  we  may  be  late  for  lunch,"  said  Sam, 
after  consulting  his  watch.  "  It  is  quarter  of 
twelve." 

Much  refreshed,  the  lads  started  back  for  the 
farmhouse.  They  were  still  some  distance  away 
when  they  saw  Jack  Ness  hurrying  towards 
them. 

"  I  say,  gents ! "  called  out  the  hired  man. 
*  You' re  wanted  at  the  house  right  away." 

"  What's  the  matter,  Jack  ?  "  demanded  Tom, 
quickly.  "  Is  father  worse  ?  " 


152         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  No,  it  ain't  that,  Master  Tom.  It's  a  tele 
gram  what  come  for  you." 

"  A  telegram  ?  "  repeated  Sam.  "  Do  you 
know  where  it  is  from?" 

"Your  uncle  said  it  was  from  Mr.  Dick." 

"Then  there  must  be  important  news,"  said* 
Tom,  and  without  further  words  both  youths 
started  on  a  swift  gait  for  the  house.  Their 
aunt  and  uncle  saw  them  coming,  and  ran  out 
on  the  back  porch  to  meet  them.  Their  aunt  held 
up  her  hand  warningly. 

"  Now  don't  make  any  noise,  boys,"  she  plead 
ed.  "  We  must  not  disturb  your  father." 

"What  is  it?    What's  the  news?" 

"  It's  a  telegram  from  Dick,"  answered  their 
Uncle  Randolph.  "  I  can't  quite  make  it  out, 
but,  evidently,  it  is  very  important.  Here  it 
is." 

He  fumbled  in  the  pocket  of  his  coat,  and 
brought  forth  the  yellow  envelope  and  handed  it 
to  Tom.  Taking  out  the  telegram,  the  youth 
lead  it,  with  Sam  looking  over  his  shoulder.  It( 
ran  as  follows: 

"  If  possible,  I  want  Sam  and  Tom  to  come  to 
New  York  at  once.  Very  important.  Do  not 
alarm  father. 

"  RICHARD  ROVER." 


A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE 


153 


"What  do  you  make  of  this,  Tom?"  asked 
Sam,  after  he  had  read  the  telegram  several 
times. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  it,  Sam.  But 
one  thing  is  certain :  Dick  needs  us.  Something 
out  of  the  ordinary  has  happened." 

"  That  is  just  what  I  think,  boys,"  put  in  their 
uncle.  "  Maybe  I  had  better  go  with  you,"  he 
added,  nervously. 

"  No,  no,  Randolph.  You  stay  here  with  me," 
pleaded  his  wife.  "  The  boys  can  attend  to  the 
New  York  matters  better  than  you  can."  She 
knew  her  husband  well,  and  realized  that  he  was 
decidedly  backward  when  it  came  to  the  trans 
action  of  business  matters  of  importance.  He 
was  wrapped  up  in  his  books  and  his  theories 
about  scientific  farming  and  was  a  dreamer  in 
the  largest  sense  of  that  word. 

"Very  well,  my  dear,  just  as  you  say,"  an 
swered  the  uncle,  meekly. 

"Boys,  you  won't  disturb  your  father,  will 
you  ?  "  continued  their  Aunt  Martha,  anxiously. 
"  You  know  the  doctor  said  he  must  not  be  dis 
turbed  under  any  circumstances." 

"Have  you  told  him  about  this  telegram?" 
questioned  Sam. 

"  Not  a  word." 

"Then  we  had  better  keep  still.    We  can  tell 


154         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

him  that  we  want  to  go  to  New  York  just  to  see 
Dick  and  Dora,"  put  in  Tom.  And  so  it  was 
arranged. 

By  consulting  a  new  timetable,  the  boys  found 
they  could  make  a  good  railroad  connection  for 
the  metropolis  by  taking  a  train  that  left  Oak 
Run  at  three-thirty  o'clock.  This  would  give 
them  about  three  hours  in  which  to  get  lunch, 
pack  their  suitcases,  and  bid  good-bye  to  their 
father. 

Mr.  Rover  was  somewhat  surprised  when  his 
sons  told  him  that  they  were  going  to  New  York 
to  see  Dick  and  his  newly-made  wife,  but  they 
smoothed  matters  over  by  stating  that  they  found 
it  rather  dull  on  the  farm. 

"We'd  like  to  go  if  you  can  spare  us,"  said 
Sam. 

"  Oh,  yes,  boys,  go  by  all  means  if  you  would 
like  to,"  returned  Mr.  Rover,  quickly.  "  I  can 
get  along  very  well.  Your  Aunt  Martha  is  a 
splendid  nurse — and  you  mustn't  forget  that  I 
have  Aleck." 

"  An'  you  can  depend  upon  Aleck,  ebery  time, 
sah,"  put  in  the  colored  man,  with  a  broad  griri 
that  showed  all  of  his  ivories. 

"  W<»  are  going  to  try  to  surprise  Dick,"  said 
Tom.  "We  are  going  to  take  the  afternoon 
train/'  And  then,  after  a  few  more  words  with 


A  TELEGRAM  OF  IMPORTANCE     155 

their  father,  and  without  letting  him  suspect  in 
the  least  why  they  were  going  to  New  York,  the 
two  lads  bade  him  an  affectionate  farewell  and 
left  the  room. 

"  Better  take  a  good  supply  of  clothing  along, 
Sam,"  remarked  Tom,  when  they  were  packing 
up.  "There  is  no  telling  how  long  we'll  have 
to  remain  in  the  city." 

"What  do  you  suppose  it  is  all  about,  Tom?  " 
questioned  the  younger  brother,  anxiously. 

"  It's  about  business,  that's  certain.  More 
than  likely  Dick  has  run  into  more  trouble." 
But  how  great  that  trouble  was,  neither  of  the 
boys  realized. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   MOVING   PICTURE 

WHEN  the  two  Rover  boys  arrived  at  the 
railroad  station  at  Oak  Run,  they  were  a  little 
surprised  to  find  themselves  once  more  con 
fronted  by  the  moving  picture  people  they  had 
met  on  the  river. 

"Hello!  So  you  are  following  us  up,  are 
you  ?  "  said  the  man  who  had  handled  the  gun. 
But  he  smiled  as  he  spoke,  because  he  saw  that 
the  boys  carried  dresssuit  cases  and  were 
equipped  for  traveling. 

"  Have  you  taken  your  picture  of  the  railroad 
station  yet?"  questioned  Tom. 

"We've  had  one  scene  in  front  of  the  ticket 
office,"  returned  the  man.  "  But  our  main  scene 
we  shall  pull  off  when  the  train  comes  in — or 
rather,  when  it  pulls  out." 

"  Perhaps  you'll  want  us  in  it,  after  all,"  broke 
in  Sam. 

"  See  here !  If  you  fellows  want  to  get  in 
this  picture,  just  say  so  and  I  guess  I  can  ar- 
156 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  157 

range  it,"  said  the  man  who  had  handled  the 
megaphone  in  the  scene  on  the  river,  and  who 
was,  evidently,  the  director  of  the  company. 

"That  depends  on  what  you  want  us  to  do,'* 
declared  Tom. 

"  Oh,  you  won't  have  much  to  do.  You  see, 
it's  like  this,"  went  on  the  manager.  "  This  man 
who  did  the  shooting  wants  to  escape.  He  runs 
up  to  the  railroad  station  here  and  buys  his 
ticket — we  have  that  part  of  it  already.  Then 
he  is  supposed  to  be  in  hiding  behind  yonder 
freighthouse.  When  the  train  comes  in,  he 
waits  for  all  other  passengers  to  get  on  board, 
then,  as  the  train  pulls  out,  he  rushes  forward 
and  catches  on  the  last  car.  At  the  same  time 
one  of  the  other  fellows  rushes  out  as  if  to 
catch  him,  but  he  is  too  late.  Now,  if  you  want 
to  get  into  the  scene,  you  get  on  the  train  just 
before  she  starts  and  stand  on  the  back  plat 
form." 

"Let's  do  it,  Tom;  it  will  be  quite  a  lark!" 
exclaimed  Sam. 

"I'm  willing,"  answered  his  brother;  and  so 
the  matter  was  arranged.  Then  the  boys  hur 
ried  into  the  ticket  office,  to  get  their  tickets  to 
New  York. 

In  the  office  they  found  old  man  Ricks,  tKe 
station  agent,  grumbling  to  himself. 


158         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Wot  ye  want?"  he  demanded,  sourly,  as  he 
looked  at  the  Rovers. 

"Two  tickets  to  New  York,  Mr.  Ricks,"  re 
turned  Tom.  "What's  the  matter?" 

"Wot's  the  matter,  huh?  A  whole  lot,  I 
should  say ! "  declared  old  Ricks,  as  he  began  to 
make  out  the  tickets.  "A!  lot  o'  them  movin* 
picter  fellers  been  in  here  cuttin'  tip  like  mad." 

"What  did  they  do?"  asked  Sam,  curiously. 

"Huh!  what  didn't  they  do?"  retorted  the 
station  master.  "  Come  in  here,  an'  knocked  over 
a  box  an'  a  basket,  rushed  up  to  the  winder,  an* 
the  next  thing  I  knew,  he  had  planked  down  a 
lot  o'  money,  an'  when  I  stuck  my  head  out  the 
winder  here,  that  feller  pretended  to  grab  up  a 
ticket  wot  I  didn't  give  him  at  all,  an'  took  up 
his  money  and  dusted  out  the  door.  At  the  same 
time  while  this  was  goin'  on,  'nother  feller  had 
a  light  turned  on  this  here  winder  wot  nearly 
blinded  me,  and  the  feller  with  that  funny  lookin' 
camera  was  a-turnin'  the  crank  to  beat  the  cars !  " 

"  They  were  only  taking  a  moving  picture,  Mr. 
Ricks,"  declared  Sam.  "You  shouldn't  object 
to  that" 

"  Huh !  I  ain't  hired  by  the  railroad  company 
to  get  in  no  movin'  picter,"  growled  the  station 
master.  "  I'm  here  to  'tend  to  the  railroad  busi 
ness,  and  nothin'  else." 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  159 

"Never  mind,  Mr.  Ricks,  if  they've  got  you 
in  the  picture  you  ought  to  be  proud  of  it,"  de 
clared  Tom.  "Think  of  the  millions  and  mil 
lions  of  people  all  over  the  world  who  will  be 
looking  at  you  when  they  visit  the  moving  pic 
ture  theaters." 

"Huh!  I  ain't  no  movin'  picter  actor,  I 
ain't,"  snorted  old  Ricks.  "  I'm  a  decent,  re 
spectable  member  o'  this  community,  an'  I'm  a 
church  member,  too.  I  ain't  got  no  use  for  them 
movin'  picter  shows.  It's  a  waste  o'  good 
money,  that's  jest  wot  it  is,"  and  then  Ricks 
shuffled  off  to  attend  to  some  baggage  that  had 
come  in. 

With  their  tickets  in  their  pockets,  the  two 
Rover  boys  rejoined  the  moving  picture  com 
pany  on  the  railroad  platform.  They  were  quite 
interested  in  watching  the  camera  man  set  up 
his  machine,  and  asked  him  several  questions  re 
garding  its  operation.  Then  they  heard  a  well- 
known  whistle  down  the  track,  and  knew  that 
their  train  was  coming. 

"  All  ready,  there !  "  cried  the  manager  of  the 
moving  picture  company.  "Now,  don't  make  a 
fizzle  of  it,  Jake." 

"  I  won't,  unless  the  train  pulls  out  too 
quickly,"  returned  Jake.  "  I  am  not  going  to 
get  killed,  though." 


K5o         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Well,  you've  got  to  take  some  chances  in 
this  business,"  said  the  manager,  coolly. 

There  were  six  or  eight  passengers  getting  off 

the  train,  and  about  an  equal  number  to  board 

:  the    cars.      As    they   had   been    instructed,    the 

,  Rover  boys  got  on  the  rear  platform  of  the  last 

car,  and  stood  in  the  doorway  looking  back  on 

the  tracks.    Tom  pretended  that  he  was  waving 

his  hand  to  somebody  in  the  distance. 

As  the  train  began  to  move,  and  while  the 
camera  man  was  taking  the  picture,  one  of  the 
actors,  as  agreed,  rushed  across  the  platform  and 
got  hold  of  the  rail  of  the  last  step.  Then,  as  he 
pretended  to  have  hard  work  to  pull  himself  up, 
the  second  actor  came  running  down  the  plat 
form,  shaking  his  fist  at  the  man  who  was  escap 
ing.  Then  the  train  passed  out  of  sight  around 
the  bend,  and  the  little  moving  picture  scene  came 
to  an  end. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  that's  over,"  declared  the 
actor,  as  he  followed  the  boys  into  the  car.  "  I 
never  like  the  scenes  where  I  am  in  danger  of 
getting  hurt." 

"You  certainly  must  have  a  strenuous  time 
of  it,"  declared  Sam ;  and  then  he  added  quickly : 
"  Are  you  going  to  New  York  with  us  ?  " 

"Oh,  no.  I'm  to  get  off  at  the  first  station 
and  take  another  train  back  to  Oak  Run.  The 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  161 

crowd  will  wait  for  me.  We  have  some  scenes 
to  do  at  a  farmhouse."  And  then,  as  he  had  a 
ride  of  ten  minutes,  the  moving  picture  man  told 
the  boys  of  some  things  which  had  happened  to 
him  during  his  career  as  a  movies'  actor. 

"  How  soon  do  you  think  they  will  show  that 
picture?"  asked  Sam,  when  the  man  prepared 
to  leave  the  train. 

"In  a  week  or  two,"  was  the  answer.  "I 
don't  know  the  exact  date  for  the  release;"  and 
then  the  man  said  good-bye  and  left  them. 

"  Do  you  know,  if  I  didn't  have  anything  else 
to  do,  I  wouldn't  mind  going  into  the  moving 
picture  business,"  remarked  Tom,  as  the  train 
rushed  onward.  "It  must  be  lots  of  fun  to  be 
in  the  different  scenes." 

"Perhaps  so,  Tom.  At  the  same  time,  those 
fellows  must  put  up  with  a  great  number  of 
inconveniences.  Think  of  plunging  into  the 
water  when  it  is  cold,  or  into  a  burning  building 
when  the  thermometer  is  over  a  hundred  in  the 
shade." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,  and,  come  to  think  of  it,  I 
was  reading  only  yesterday  about  a  movies'  actor 
who,  in  a  war  scene  taken  out  on  the  Hacken- 
sack  meadows,  fell  into  a  trench,  and  broke  an. 
arm  and  also  a  leg.  Just  the  same,  I  wouldn't' 
mind  trying  it." 


162         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS. 

"  Maybe  you'll  get  a  chance  some  day." 

On  and  on  went  the  train,  and,  with  little  else 
to  do,  the  boys  discussed  the  situations  at  home 
and  in  the  city. 

"  One  thing  is  sure,  Tom,"  said  the  youngest 
Rover,  earnestly.  "  No  matter  what  happens  in 
New  York,  we  mustn't  let  father  know  about  it. 
J  think  the  worry  is  worse  for  him  than  anything 
else." 

"  Oh,  I  agree  on  that.  Even  if  we  lose  a  lot 
of  money,  he  must  not  know  one  word  about 
it" 

"  Do  you  think  we'll  lose  any  money  ?  " 

"I  don't  know  what  to  think.  One  thing  is 
sure,  something  very  much  out  of  the  way  has 
happened,  or  Dick  wouldn't  have  sent  that  tele 
gram." 

"  Perhaps  Pelter,  Japson  &  Company  haven't 
been  as  honest  as  they  promised  to  be.  Maybe 
they  are  holding  back  some  of  the  securities  that 
belong  to  dad." 

"  That  may  be  so,  too.  At  the  same  time,  you 
must  remember  that  Songbird's  uncle  is  our  at 
torney,  and  I  don't  think  Mr.  Powell  would  let 
them  get  away  with  very  much.  You'll  remem 
ber  what  Dick  wrote  some  time  ago,  that  he  had 
taken  the  office  fixtures  for  part  of  the  debt. 
That  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  had  gotten 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  163 

everything  from  the  firm  that  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on." 

"  I  wonder  if  we'll  ever  meet  that  Barton  Pel- 
kter  again." 

"  Perhaps,  although  if  he  is  a  nephew  of  Jesee 
Pelter,  it  is  more  than  likely  he  will  keep  out  of 
sight,  thinking  that  a  meeting  between  us  would 
be  very  unpleasant." 

At  one  of  the  stops  a  dining  car  was  attached 
to  the  train,  and,  as  the  boys  were  hungry,  they 
lost  no  time  in  going  in  for  the  evening  meal. 

"  Say,  Tom,  look  there,"  whispered  Sam,  dur 
ing  the  course  of  the  repast,  and,  with  a  look 
from  his  eye,  he  indicated  a  man  sitting  on  the 
other  side  of  the  car.  The  fellow  was  a  tall, 
surly  individual,  plainly  dressed.  His  face  was 
somewhat  flushed,  as  if  he  had  been  drinking. 

"Why,  that's  the  head  gardener  at  Hope!" 
said  Tom.  "It  is  queer  that  he  should  be  on 
this  train,  Sam!" 

"  If  you'll  remember,  he  lost  his  job  at  the 
seminary." 

"  He  did?    I  didn't  hear  anything  of  that." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Grace  told  me  about  it.  He  was  a 
splendid  gardener,  but  every  once  in  a  while  he 
would  drink  too  much,  and  tfoen  get  into  a  quar 
rel  with  the  other  help,  so  they  had  to  let  him 
go." 


164         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  It's  a  shame  that  such  fellows  can't  leave 
drink  alone,"  was  Tom's  comment. 

The  man  had  settled  himself,  and  ordered 
quite  an  elaborate  dinner.  He  was  in  the  midst 
of  eating,  with  the  Rover  boys  paying  little 
attention  to  him,  when  he  happened  to  glance  at 
them.  He  straightened  up  and  stared  in  aston 
ishment,  and  then  looked  decidedly  uncomfort 
able. 

"  He's  looking  at  us,  Tom,"  whispered  Sam. 

"  Well,  let  him  look  if  he  wants  to.  It  doesn't 
cost  anything,"  was  the  reply.  And  then  Tom 
turned  his  head  squarely,  and  stared  at  the  for 
mer  seminary  gardener.  Immediately,  the  man 
dropped  his  eyes,  and  went  on  with  his  meal.  He 
soon  finished,  and,  paying  his  bill,  left  the  dining 
car  in  a  hurry. 

"  That's  a  queer  way  to  do,"  was  Sam's  com 
ment.  "  He  acted  as  if  he  didn't  want  us  to  see 
him." 

"  Maybe  he  is  ashamed  of  himself  for  having 
lost  his  position,"  returned  the  brother.  "  Any 
way,  it's  none  of  our  business."  And  there  the 
talk  came  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WHAT  DICK  HAD  TO  TELL 

3 

"HERE  we  are,  Sam!" 

"And  I'm  glad  of  it,  Tom.  I  don't  care  much 
about  riding  in  the  cars  after  it  is  too  dark  to 
look  out  of  the  windows,"  returned  the  young 
est  Rover. 

The  train  was  nearing  the  Grand  Central  Ter 
minal,  in  New  York  City.  The  passengers  were 
gathering  their  belongings,  and  the  porter  was 
moving  from  one  to  another,  brushing  them  and 
gathering  in  his  tips.  Then  the  train  rushed  into 
the  long  station,  and  soon  came  to  a  halt. 

"  I  wonder  if  Dick  will  be  on  hand  to  meet 
us?  "  said  Sam,  as  he  and  his  brother  left  the  car 
and  made  their  way  towards  the  waiting-room. 

"Maybe,  although  it's  pretty  late." 

There  was  a  large  crowd  coming  and  going, 
and,  for  the  moment,  the  lads  had  all  they  could 
fto  to  get  through.  Then,  as  they  emerged  into 
the  middle  of  the  big  waiting- room,  they  saw 
itwo  familiar  figures  close  at  han<£.> 
165 


166         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Hello,  Dick!    How  do  you  do,  Dora!" 

"  So  here  you  are,  Tom  and  Sam ! "  cried  their 
big  brother,  and  shook  hands  heartily.  Then 
Dora  came  up  to  greet  the  newcomers. 

"Did  you  have  a  nice  trip?"  asked  Dick's 
wife,  as  she  smiled  at  them. 

"  Oh,  yes,  it  was  all  right,"  answered  Sam. 
"  And  what  do  you  think  ?  We  got  in  a  moving 
picture ! " 

"You  did!"  exclaimed  Dora.  "That  cer 
tainly  is  a  new  experience." 

"  We  received  your  telegram,  Dick,"  said  Tom, 
and  looked  at  his  big  brother,  anxiously.  "I 
hope  nothing  very  serious  has  happened." 

"  Well,  Tom,  I— I "    Twice  Dick  tried  to 

go  on  and  failed.  He  looked  at  both  of  his 
brothers,  and  his  face  showed  something  that 
they  had  never  seen  in  it  before. 

"  Oh,  Dick !  Don't  say  anything  here ! "  inter 
posed  Dora,  hastily.  "Wait  till  we  get  to  the 
hotel."  She  turned  to  Sam  and  Tom.  "  Don't 
ask  him  any  questions  now.  It  won't  do  to  have 
a  scene  here." 

"All  right,  Dora,  just  as  you  say,"  answered j 
Tom,  quickly.    Yet,  both  he  and  Sam  wondered 
greatly  what  had  occurred  to  so  ttpset  Dick. 

The  oldest  Rover  boy  had  a  taxicab  handy, 
and  into  this  the  whole  party  got  and  were 


WHAT  DICK  HAD  TO  TELL 

quickly  driven  across  Forty-second  Street  to 
Fifth  Avenue,  and  then,  for  a  number  of  blocks, 
down  that  well-known  thoroughfare.  Soon  they 
turned  towards  Broadway,  and  a  moment  later 
came  to  a  stop  before  the  main  entrance  of  the 
©utlook  Hotel. 

"As  you  know,  we  have  a  suite  of  rooms 
here,"  said  Dick  to  his  brothers.  "  I  have  hired 
an  extra  room  next  door,  so  we  can  all  be  to 
gether." 

A  bellboy  had  already  secured  the  newcomers' 
baggage,  and,  after  signing  the  register,  Sam  and 
Tom  followed  Dick  and  his  wife  to  the  elevator 
and  to  the  third  floor. 

"  It's  a  fine  layout,  all  right,"  declared  Sam, 
when  they  were  settled  and  the  bellboy  had  been 
dismissed. 

Dick  did  not  make  any  answer  to  this  remark. 
He  walked  over  to  the  door,  to  see  that  it  was 
closed,  then  he  suddenly  wheeled  to  confront  his 
brothers. 

"You've  got  to  know  it  sooner  or  later,  so 
you  might  as  well  know  it  now,"  he  said  in  as 
steady  a  voice  as  he  could  command.  "  Do  you 
remember  that  I  wrote  to  you  about  sixty- four 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  bonds  that  I  had 
bought  for  dad  in  place  of  some  securities  that 
he  possessed?" 


168         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Yes,"  answered  both  brothers. 

"  Well,  those  bonds  have  been  stolen." 

"  Stolen !  "  gasped  Sam. 

"  You  don't  mean  it,  Dick ! "  came  from  Tom. 

"  I  do  mean  it.  The  bonds  have  been  stolen, 
and,  try  my  best,  I  can't  get  a  single  clew  as  to 
where  they  went  or  who  took  them." 

"  Sixty- four  thousand  dollars!  Phew!"  ejac 
ulated  Sam.  "  That's  some  loss ! " 

"  But  please  don't  blame  Dick,"  broke  in  Dora. 
"  I  am  sure  it  isn't  his  fault." 

"How  did  it  happen?"  questioned  Tom. 

"They  were  taken  out  of  the  safe  at  the 
offices." 

"  Stolen  from  the  safe,  you  mean?  " 

"Yes." 

"When  was  this?" 

"Day  before  yesterday." 

"  Of  course  the  safe  was  locked?  "  put  in  Sam. 

"Certainly." 

"But  Pelter  and  Japson  knew  that  combina 
tion,  didn't  they,  Dick?"  questioned  Tom,  eag 
erly. 

"  No,  Tom,  they  did  not.  When  they  turned 
the  offices  over  to  me,  Pelter  made  some  sarcas 
tic  remark,  stating  I  had  better  have  the  combina 
tion  changed.  I  told  him  I  certainly  would  have 
it  changed;  and  the  very  next  day  I  had  the 


WHAT  DICK  HAD   TO   TELL  169 

safe  makers  up  to  inspect  the  lock,  and  change 
.the  combination." 

"Humph!  Then  that  lets  Pelter  and  Japson 
out,  doesn't  it?" 

"  But  somebody  must  have  taken  those  bonds,'* 
came  from  Sam.  "  Did  anybody  else  have  the 
combination,  Dick?" 

"  Nobody  but  Dora.  I  gave  her  the  figures, 
so  she  could  get  the  safe  open  in  case  anything 
happened  to  me,  or  I  was  away." 

"  I've  got  the  figures  on  a  card  in  my  pocket- 
book,"  explained  Dora,  "  but  I  don't  believe  any 
body  saw  them.  In  fact,  the  card  has  nothing 
but  the  bare  figures  on  it,  so  it  isn't  likely  that 
any  one  would  understand  what  those  figures 
meant.  Oh,  but  isn't  it  perfectly  dreadful!  I — 
I  hope  you — you  boys  won't  blame  Dick,"  she 
faltered. 

"Of  course  we  don't  blame  Dick,"  returned 
Tom,  promptly. 

"Why  should  we  blame  him?"  added  Sam. 
"  If  he  put  the  bonds  in  the  safe  and  locked  them 
up,  I  can't  see  how  this  robbery  is  his  fault.  It 
might  have  happened  to  any  of  us." 

"I'm  glad  to  hear  you  say  that,"  returned 
Dick ;  and  his  face  showed  his  relief.  "  Just  the 
same,  boys,  we  have  got  to  find  those  bonds. 
Our  family  can't  afford  to  lose  sixty- four  thou- 


170         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

sand  dollars — or  rather  sixty  thousand  dollars." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Dick?"  asked  Tom. 
"You  said  sixty- four  thousand  dollars." 

"  So  I  did,  but  four  thousand  of  the  bonds 
were   registered   in   dad's   name,   principal   and, 
interest,  so  it's  likely  the  thief  won't  be  able  to' 
use  them." 

"  And  all  the  other  bonds  were  unregistered?  " 
queried  Sam, 

"  Yes,  every  one  of  them." 

"  So  they  can  be  used  by  any  one  ?  " 

"  Exactly — although,  of  course,  the  thief 
Would  have  to  be  very  careful  how  he  disposed 
of  them." 

"Have  you  notified  the  police?"  asked  Tom. 

"  Not  yet.  I  wanted  to  consult  you  first.  Be 
sides,  I  thought  it  might  be  possible  that  the  thief 
would  put  an  advertisement  in  the  newspapers, 
offering  to  return  the  bonds  for  a  reward.  But 
so  far,  I  haven't  seen  any  such  advertisement." 

"  It  isn't  likely  they'll  offer  to  return  them  if 
sixty  thousand  dollars'  worth  are  negotiable,"  re 
turned  Tom.  "  But  give  us  the  particulars  of  the 
affair;"  and  the  youth  dropped  into  a  seat,  and 
the  others  did  the  same. 

"  Well,  to  start  with,  as  I  said  before,  as  soon 
as  Pelter  and  Japson  and  their  hired  help  left,  I 
had  the  lock  of  the  safe  investigated,  and  then 


WHAT  DICK  HAD   TO  TELL 

had  the  combination  changed,"  began  Dick. 
"  The  fellow  from  the  safe  company  showed  me 
how  the  combination  was  worked,  so  I  fixed  the 
new  numbers  to  suit  myself,  in  order  that  no 
outsider  would  know  how  to  open  the  safe.  I 
put  the  numbers  down  on  two  cards,  and  placed 
one  of  the  cards  in  my  notebook,  and  gave  the 
other  to  Dora.  As  she  said,  the  cards  had  noth 
ing  on  them  but  the  bare  numbers,  so  that  a  per 
son  getting  one  of  the  cards  would  not  know 
that  the  numbers  referred  to  the  safe  combina 
tion. 

"  It  took  me  several  days  to  get  rid  of  the  old 
stocks,  and  while  I  was  doing  that  I,  from  time 
to  time,  purchased  the  bonds,  buying  them,  on 
the  advice  of  Mr.  Powell,  from  several  bond 
houses  in  Wall  Street.  I  also  bought  a  brand 
new  japanned  box  with  a  little  lock,  and  placed 
the  bonds  in  that  box,  and  then  put  the  box  in  the 
safe.  The  last  I  saw  of  the  bonds  was  about 
half -past  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  placed 
the  last  of  the  bonds  in  the  box.  I  came  down 
to  the  office  at  a  little  before  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  and  Opened  the  safe  about  half  an 
hour  later.  Then  the  box  was  gone." 

"Wait  a  minute,  Dick,"  interrupted  Tom. 
"  You  just  said  you  opened  the  safe.  Wasn't  the 
door  already  open?" 


172         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  No,  the  door  was  shut  and  locked,  just  as  I 
had  left  it  the  night  before." 

"  Humph !  Then  somebody  must  have  worked 
the  combination,"  ventured  Sam. 

"  So  it  would  seem,  Sam,  and  yet  when  I  had 
the  lock  inspected,  the  safe  company  man  told  me 
that  that  was  a  first-class  combination,  and  prac- 
t'cally  burglar  proof." 

"Is  it  an  old  safe?" 

"  I  don't  think  so — in  fact,  the  safe  man  led 
me  to  believe  it  was  one  of  the  newer  kinds.  It 
is  about  five  feet  square,  and  the  walls  are  almost 
a  foot  thick.  Oh,  it  is  some  safe,  I  can  tell  you 
that!" 

"But  it  was  not  safe  in  this  instance,"  re 
torted  Tom,  who,  no  matter  how  serious  the  situ 
ation,  was  bound  to  have  his  little  joke. 

"You  said  Pelter  and  Japson  had  gone  for 
good,"  continued  Sam.  "  Is  there  nobody  else 
around  attached  to  the  old  firm?  " 

"  I  took  on  their  old  office  boy,  a  lad  named 
Bob  Marsh.  You'll  remember  him,"  returned  the 
oldest  Rover.  "He  said  he  wanted  work  the 
worst  way,  so  I  thought  I  would  give  him  a 
chance." 

"Maybe  he  got  the  combination,  and  gave  it 
to  Pelter  or  Japson." 

"I  don't  think  so,  Sam.     The  boy  is  rather 


WHAT  DICK  HAD  TO  TELL  173 

forward  in  his  manner,  but  I  think  he  is  perfectly 
honest." 

"  Yes,  but  somebody  opened  that  safe  and 
took  the  box  of  bonds,"  put  in  Tom. 

"  I  know  that,  Tom,  and  we've  got  to  get  those 
bonds  back,  or  it  will  be  a  very  serious  piece  of 
business  for  us,"  answered  the  oldest  Rover  boy, 
soberly. 

"Was  anything  else  taken,  Dick?"  questioned 
Sam. 

"  Not  a  thing.  And  that's  queer,  too,  because 
I  had  a  number  of  private  papers  in  the  safe,  and 
also  our  new  set  of  books." 

"  Then  that  would  go  to  show  that  all  the  thief 
was  after  were  the  bonds,"  came  from  Tom. 
"  You  say  they  were  in  a  new  japanned  box  that 
was  locked?" 

"  Yes,  but  the  lock  didn't  amount  tc-  much.  I 
think  it  could  easily  be  opened." 

"  Sixty  thousand  dollars  is  a  lot  of  money  to 
lose,"  mused  Sam.  "Dick,  that  will  put  us  in 
something  of  a  hole,  won't  it?" 

"  It  may.  But  don't  let  us  think  about  that, 
Sam.  Let  us  try  to  get  the  bonds  back,"  returned 
his  oldest  brother,  earnestly. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

AT    THE    OFFICES 

AFTER  that  the  three  Rovers  and  Dick's  wife 
talked  the  matter  over  for  fully  an  hour.  Dick 
gave  Sam  and  Tom  all  the  particulars  he  could 
think  of,  and  answered  innumerable  questions. 
But  try  their  best,  not  one  of  the  party  could 
venture  a  solution  of  the  mystery. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  go  to  bed,"  said  Dora, 
at  last.  "  You  can  go  down  to  the  offices  the 
first  thing  in  the  morning,  and  make  up  your 
minds  what  to  do  next;"  and  this  advice  was 
followed. 

"  No  use  of  talking,  this  is  a  fierce  loss ! "  was 
Tom's  comment,  when  he  and  Sam  were  retiring. 

"Yes,  and  Dick  feels  pretty  bad  over  it,"  re 
turned  the  youngest  Rover.  "  I  am  afraid  he 
imagines  that  we  think  he  is  to  blame." 

"  Maybe,  but  I  don't  blame  him,  Sam.  That 
might  have  happened  to  you  or  me  just  as  well 
as  to  him." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  boys  did  not  sleep 
1/4 


AT   THE   OFFICES  175 

very  soundly  that  night.  For  a  long  time  each 
lay  awake,  speculating  over  the  mystery,  and 
wondering  what  had  become  of  the  bonds. 

"  Perhaps  Pelter  and  Japson  had  nothing  at 
all  to  do  with  it,"  thought  Tom,  as  he  reviewed 
the  situation.  "  It  may  have  been  some  out 
sider,  who  watched  Dick  alter  the  combination 
of  the  safe." 

All  of  the  boys  were  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and.  accompanied  by  Dora,  obtained  breakfast  in 
the  hotel  dining-room. 

"If  you  want  me  to  go  along,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  do  so,"  said  Dora,  during  the  course  of  the 
meal.  It  cut  her  to  the  heart  to  have  Dick  so 
troubled. 

"  No,  Dora,  you  had  better  stay  here,  or  else 
spend  your  time  shopping,"  answered  Dick. 
"  We'll  have  to  take  care  of  this  matter  our 
selves." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  you  can  do,"  broke  in  Tom. 
"  You  can  write  a  nice  letter  to  Aunt  Martha^ 
telling  her  that  we  have  arrived  safely,  and  that 
we  are  going  into  some  business  matters  with 
Dick.  Of  course,  you  needn't  say  a  word  about 
the  robbery.  It  will  be  time  enough  to  tell  her 
and  Uncle  Randolph  after  we  have  tried  all  we 
can  to  get  the  bonds  back — and  failed." 

As  my  old  readers  will  probably  remember, 


1 76         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

the  offices  formerly  occupied  by  Pelter,  Japson 
&  Company  were  located  at  the  lower  end  of 
Wall  Street.  The  building  was  an  old  one,  five 
stories  in  height,  which  had  recently  been  put  in 
repair.  The  offices  were  on  the  fourth  floor  in 
ithe  extreme  rear,  and  had  a  fairly  good  out 
look. 

The  Rovers  found  the  office  boy,  Bob  Marsh, 
already  on  hand,  and  doing  some  work  which 
Dick  had  given  him.  He  was  a  bright,  sharp- 
eyed  lad,  his  only  failing  being  that  he  was  a 
bit  forward. 

"Any  one  here  to  see  me,  Bob?  "  asked  Dick, 
as  they  entered. 

"  Nobody,  sir,  but  an  agent  that  wanted  to  sell 
you  some  kind  of  a  new  calendar.  I  told  him 
we  had  bushels  of  calendars  already,"  and  the 
boy  grinned  slightly. 

Passing  through  two  small  offices,  the  Rovers 
came  to  one  in  the  rear — that  which  had  for 
merly  been  used  by  Jesse  Pelter. 

"Looks  a  little  bit  familiar,"  observed  Tom, 
"  Looks  like  when  I  visited  it  as  Roy  A.  Putnam, 
from  Denver,  Colorado,  and  thought  about  tak 
ing  stock  in  the  Irrigation  Company,"  and  he 
laughed  shortly  as  he  recalled  that  incident,  the 
particulars  of  which  have  been  related  in  "The 
Rover  Boys  in  New  York." 


AT   THE   OFFICES  177 

"  You've  got  pretty  big  offices  for  only  you 
and  the  office  boy,"  remarked  Sam. 

"  I  took  them  just  as  the  old  concern  had 
them,"  returned  Dick.  "But  if  business  in 
creases,  I  guess  we'll  have  to  have  quite  some 
office  help.  Anyway,  a  bookkeeper  and  a  stenog 
rapher." 

"  Hadn't  you  better  send  that  office  boy  out  for 
a  little  while?"  suggested  Sam. 

"A  good  idea,"  returned  his  oldest  brother, 
and  sent  the  lad  on  an  errand  up  to  the  post- 
office. 

Left  to  themselves,  the  Rovers  once  more  went 
over  the  details  of  the  robbery  so  far  as  they 
knew  them.  Dick  opened  the  safe,  showing  his 
brothers  how  the  combination  lock  was  worked; 
then  the  boys  looked  inside  the  strong-box,  and 
into  the  private  compartment  which,  so  Dick  told 
them,  had  contained  the  missing  box  of  bonds. 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  got  into  this  safe,"  was 
Sam's  comment,  after  the  door  had  been  closed 
and  the  combination  turned  on.  "  I  can't  make 
head  or  tail  of  how  to  get  it  open." 

"  Let  me  have  a  try  at  it,"  returned  Tom,  and 
he  worked  for  several  minutes  over  the  combina 
tion. 

"Here  are  the  figures  for  the  combination," 
said  Dick,  and  he  turned  them  over  to  his  broth- 


178        THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

ers.    But  even  with  the  figures  before  them,  they 

found  it  no  easy  task  to  open  the  heavy  door  of 

the  strong-box.     This  door  was  provided  with 

1  several  bolts,  so  that  to  get  it  open  without  either 

i  working  the  combination  or  else  blowing  the  door 

open,  was  out  of  the  question. 

"It's  a  Chinese  puzzle  to  me.  I  give  it  up," 
declared  Tom,  at  last.  "The  only  way  J  imag 
ine,  Dick,  is  that,  somehow  or  other,  somebody 
got  hold  of  that  combination." 

"  It  would  seem  so,  Tom.  But  I  can't  see  how 
it  could  be  done,  or  who  did  it,"  was  the  answer. 

"Do  you  suppose  that  boy  suspects  any 
thing  ?  "  questioned  Sam. 

"  He  may,  because,  after  I  discovered  that  the 
box  was  gone,  I  questioned  him  pretty  closely  as 
to  who  had  been  in  the  offices.  I  guess  he  knows 
something  is  wrong." 

"  Let  us  ask  him  about  Pelter  and  Japson  when 
he  conies  back,"  said  Tom.  "  It  certainly  won't 
do  any  harm  to  get  all  the  information  possible, 
,Then,  if  we  can't  get  any  clew  by  noon,  I  think 
the  best  thing  you  can  do,  Dick,  is  to  notify  the 
authorities." 

It  was  not  long  before  Bob  Marsh  came  back 
from  his  errand  to  the  post-office,  and  then  Dick 
called  him  into  the  inner  office. 

"  Now,  Bob,  I'm  going  to  tell  you  something," 


AT  THE  OFFICES  179 

said  the  oldest  Rover,  coming  to  the  point  with 
out  delay.  "There  has  been  a  robbery  here." 

"  Robbery !  "  exclaimed  the  boy.  "  I  didn't  do 
it.  I  wouldn't  take  nothin',"  he  went  on,  quickly. 

"  I  didn't  say  you  did,  Bob.  But  what  I  want 
you  to  do  is  to  tell  me  everything  that  you  know. 
•Was  there  anybody  in  this  office  during  my  ab 
sence  ?  " 

"  Nobody  went  into  this  office  while  I  was 
here,"  declared  the  office  boy.  "I  wouldn't  let 
'em  in.  But  then  you  must  remember,  the  jan 
itors  come  in  during  the  night  to  clean  up." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  that." 

"  Dick,  do  you  think  the  janitor  of  the  build 
ing  could  be  in  this?"  exclaimed  Sam. 

"As  I  have  said  several  times,  I  don't  know 
what  to  think,"  answered  Dick.  "As  a  matter 
of  fact,  I  don't  know  who  the  janitor  is." 

"  Say  I "   broke   in   the   office   boy,    suddenly. 

"  There  was  one  feller  here  that  I  didn't  tell  you 

about.    I  forgot  about  him.    He  was  here  three 

or  four  days  ago— I  don't  exactly  remember  what 

'day  it  was." 

"Who  was  that?" 

"Why,  it  was  a  young  feller  named  Barton 
Pelter.  He's  a  relation  to  Mr.  Pelter.  I  think 
Mr.  Pelter  is  his  uncle." 

"  Barton  Pelter!  "  exclaimed  Dick.    He  looked 


180         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

at  his  brothers.  "  That  must  be  the  same  fellow 
that  you  wrote  about — the  fellow  you  pulled  out 
of  the  river." 

"What  did  this  Barton  Pelter  want?"  asked 
Sam. 

"  He  wanted  to  see  his  uncle.  He  knew  that 
the  firm  had  sold  out  to  you  folks,  but  he  was 
not  certain  if  they  had  moved  away  yet.  When 
I  told  him  that  his  uncle  was  gone,  he  looked 
kind  of  disappointed." 

"  Was  he  in  this  office,  Bob  ? "  questioned 
Dick. 

"  No,  sir,  he  was  only  in  the  outside  office." 

"  Did  he  say  anything  about  bonds  or 
money  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Say,  tell  me  something ! "  broke  in  Tom. 
"  Were  this  Barton  Pelter  and  his  uncle  on  good 
terms?" 

"  They  used  to  be."  replied  the  office  boy,  "  but 
once  or  twice  they  had  some  pretty  warm  talks. 
This  young  feller  didn't  like  it  at  all  the  way  his 
uncle  treated  your  father.  I  heard  him  tell  his 
uncle  once,  that  what  he  was  doing  was  close  to' 
swindling.  Then  Mr.  Pelter  got  awful  mad,  and 
told  him  he  had  better  get  out." 

"  Good  for  Barton ! "  murmured  Sam.  "  He 
can't  be  such  a  bad  sort." 

"Oh,  I  guess  he  was  all  right,"  put  in  the 


AT  THE  OFFICES  181 

office  boy,  with  the  freedom  that  seemed  natural 
to  him.  "  Only  I  guess  he  was  dependent  on  his 
uncle  for  money.  Maybe  if  it  wasn't  for  that, 
he  would  have  pitched  into  his  uncle  more  than 
he  did.  But  say!  You  said  something  was 
stolen.  What  was  it?"  ' 

"  Sixty-four  thousand  dollars  in  bonds,"  an 
swered  Dick. 

"What!  Say,  boss,  ain't  you  kiddin'?"  and 
the  boy  looked  incredulous. 

"  No,  it  is  the  truth,  Bob.  Somebody  took  a 
box  out  of  that  safe  that  contained  sixty-four 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  bonds." 

"  Great  smoke !  I  didn't  think  there  was  that 
many  bonds  in  the  hull  building !  "  cried  the  boy, 
with  emphasis. 

"  I  only  expected  to  keep  them  here  a  few 
days,"  went  on  Dick.  "Later  on,  of  course,  I 
would  have  placed  them  in  a  safe  deposit  vault." 

"  Say,  boss !  you  sure  don't  think  that  I  took 
them  bonds  ?  "  cried  the  office  boy. 

"  No,  I  don't,  Bob.  But  somebody  took  them, 
and  we've  got  to  find  them." 

"  Sure,  we've  got  to  find  them ! "  cried  Bob. 
"  Say,  do  you  want  me  to  call  the  janitor?  May 
be  he  knows  something  about  it." 

"Yes,  you  may  call  him,  but  don't  tell  him 
what  we  want  him  for,"  answered  Dick. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  FIRST  CLEW 

THE  janitor  of  the  building  was  Mike  Dono 
van,  an  aged  Irishman,  who  was  assisted  in  his 
work  by  his  wife  and  his  daughter  Kittie,  aged 
about  fifteen. 

"  'Tis  me  yez  want  to  see  ?  "  queried  Donovan, 
as  he  shuffled  into  the  inner  office,  hat  in  hand. 

"  You  are  the  janitor  of  this  building?  "  ques 
tioned  Dick,  looking  him  over  carefully. 

"  I  am  that,  sur." 

"  Can  you  tell  me  who  is  in  the  habit  of  clean 
ing  this  particular  office?" 

"Well,  sur,  we  are  all  after  takin'  a  hand  at 
it.  I  ginerally  do  the  swapin',  and  me  wife  or 
Kittie,  me  daughter,  do  the  winder  clanin'  an* 
the  dustin'." 

"  During  the  past  four  or  five  days,  have  you 
noticed  anything  unusual  around  this  office?"' 
went  on  Dick. 

"Phat  are  ye  after  mainm'?" 

"  I'll  tell  you.    There  has  been  a  robbery  here, 
and  we  want  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  it." 
182 


THE  FIRST  CLEW  183 

"I  haven't  touched  a  thing,  sur,  an'  nather 
have  me  family!"  cried  the  janitor,  quickly. 

"  You  look  like  an  honest  man,  and  I  can't 
say  that  I  suspect  you,"  continued  Dick,  for  he 
saw  that  the  old  janitor  was  evidently  much  hurt. 
"  I  want  you  to  help  me  all  you  can,  that  is  all." 

"Sure,  sur,  an'  I'll  be  after  do  in'  that,  Mr. 
Rover.  Phat  did  they  be  after  takin'  ?  " 

"  This  safe,  here,  has  been  looted,  and  a  small 
box  that  contained  sixty- four  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  bonds  is  gone." 

At  this  announcement  the  old  janitor  threw 
up  both  hands  and  faltered  back  a  step  or  two. 

"  Sixty- four  thousand  dollars,  did  you  be 
after  say  in'  ?  "  he  gasped,  thinking  he  had  not 
heard  aright. 

"  That  is  what  I  said.  Now  then,  just  put  on 
your  thinking  cap,  and  see  if  you  can  remember 
anything  unusual  that  happened  around  here  two 
or  three  days  ago." 

"  Two  or  three  days  ago.  Let  me  see,"  mused 
the  janitor,  scratching  his  head.  "  I  don't  re 
member  anything Oh,  yes,  I  do ! "  he  burst 

.out. 

"What  was  that?"  queried  all  three  of  the 
Rovers,  while  the  office  boy  looked  on  with 
mouth  wide  open. 

"  'Twas    one    avenin'    about   siven   or    eig^t 


184         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

o'clock.  Me  an'  me  family  were  up  stairs,  clanin' 
out  an  office  that  has  just  been  rinted.  Kittie, 
me  gurrel,  wint  down  stairs  for  some  extra 
dustin'  rags.  Whin  she  came  back,  she  said  she 
saw  a  man  a-walkin'  through  the  hallway  outside. 
She  said  that  as  soon  as  he  saw  her,  he  didn't 
wait  for  the  illevator,  but  went  down  the  stairs 
in  a  big  hurry." 

"  Did  she  know  the  man?  " 

"  She  did  not.  At  least,  she  said  she  didn't 
recognize  him,  for,  you  see,  there  was  only  one 
little  light  burnin'  in  the  hallway,  because  nearly 
all  the  tinnents  had  gone  home.  The  illevator 
wouldn't  have  been  runnin',  only  we  was  goin' 
to  take  up  the  stuff  to  the  office  we  was  cleanin* 
on  the  fifth  floor." 

"Your  daughter  saw  that  man  in  the  hall 
way?  "  questioned  Tom.  "  Did  he  seem  to  come 
from  these  offices?  " 

"  No,  I  axed  her  particular,  and  she  said  he 
seemed  to  be  comin'  from  the  back  av  the  hall." 

"  What  is  back  there?  "  asked  Sam. 

"A  winder  wid  a  fire  escape  outside,"  an 
swered  the  janitor.  "  Likewise,  I've  a  sink  closet 
there,  where  I  keep  me  brooms  and  me  brushes 
and  such." 

"  And  you  have  no  idea  who  the  man  was  ?  " 
questioned  Dick. 


THE  FIRST  CLEW  185 

"No,  sur.  I  axed  Kitty  how  he  looked,  but 
she  said  she  hadn't  seen  his  face — that  he  turned 
away  from  her  and  went  down  the  stairs  as  fast 
as  he  could." 

"  More  than  likely  that  was  the  thief ! "  ex 
claimed  Tom.  "  The  question  is :  Who  is  he  and 
[where  did  he  go  ?  " 

"Did  your  daughter  say  how  the  man  was 
dressed  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"  Sure !  She  said  he  had  on  a  dark  suit  of 
clothes  and  a  dark,  soft  hat.  That's  all  she 
knew." 

"Was  he  a  big  man?" 

"  Oh,  she  said  he  was  about  middlin'  big." 

This  was  all  the  old  janitor  could  tell,  and  a 
little  later  he  brought  in  both  his  wife  and  his 
daughter  to  be  interviewed.  The  girl  was  almost 
scared  to  death,  and  could  add  nothing  to  what 
her  father  had  already  told. 

"Well,  it's  a  clew,  even  if  it  is  a  slight  one," 
was  Tom's  comment.  "  Dick,  I  guess  the  best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  call  up  police  headquar 
ters." 

"I'll  do  it.  But  please  remember  one  thing," 
went  on  the  oldest  Rover  boy,  turning  to  the 
janitor  and  his  family  and  also  the  office  boy. 
"We  want  to  keep  this  as  quiet  as  possible  for 
the  present,  so  please  don't  saj  anything  about 


186         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

it."    And  all  of  them  promised  to  keep  silent. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  Dick  to  get  into  com 
munication  with  the  authorities,  and  after  a 
short  talk  over  the  telephone,  he  was  told  that  a 
couple  of  detectives  would  be  sent  down  to  his 
office  without  delay. 

"  Have  you  told  Mr.  Powell  ? "  questioned 
Tom,  suddenly. 

"  No,  but  I  will  call  him  up  now,"  answered 
his  older  brother. 

Of  course  the  lawyer  was  astonished  at  the 
news,  and  asked  \vhat  steps  had  been  taken  to 
apprehend  the  thief.  When  told  that  the  author 
ities  had  been  asked  to  take  charge  of  the  case, 
he  wanted  to  know  if  he  could  be  of  any  assist 
ance. 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can  help  us,  Mr.  Powell," 
answered  Dick,  over  the  wire.  "  I  suppose  we 
will  have  to  put  the  whole  matter  in  the  hands 
of  the  police." 

"  Well,  if  I  can  do  anything  at  all,  let  me 
know,"  answered  Songbird's  uncle.  "  I  am 
rather  busy  now,  but  as  soon  as  I  am  at  leisure, 
I  will  call  and  talk  the  matter  over  with  you." 

Inside  of  half  an  hour  the  two  detectives  from 
headquarters  arrived.  They  were  bright,  sharp- 
eyed  individuals,  and  they  got  down  to  business 
without  delay.  They  asked  Dick  innumerable 


THE  FIRST  CLEW  187 

questions,  and  looked  carefully  at  the  safe,  try 
ing  the  combination  several  times,  and  then  in 
spected  the  offices  and  the  hallway.  After  that 
they  subjected  Kittie  Donovan  to  a  close  exami 
nation,  getting  the  girl  to  tell  everything  she 
could  possibly  think  of  regarding  the  strange 
man  she  had  seen  on  the  evening  when  the  rob 
bery  had  occurred. 

"  I  think  I  know  who  did  this  job,"  said  one 
of  the  detectives  to  the  other, 

"  Looks  like  the  work  of  one  of  three  men  to 
me,"  returned  the  other  sleuth.  "  Baldy  Jack 
son,  Slim  Martin,  or  Hank  the  Bluffer." 

"  You  may  be  right,  Joe,  but  I  think  it  was 
Hank.  If  I've  got  the  dope  right,  those  other 
two  fellows  you  mention  are  not  near  New  York 
just  now." 

"  Well,  if  Baldy  and  Slim  can  prove  that  they 
weren't  around  New  York  at  the  time,  then  I'll 
agree  with  you  that  it  was  Hank  who  lifted  that 
box,"  returned  the  other  detective. 

"Who  is  this  Hank  the  Bluffer?"  questioned 
Dick,  curiously. 

"  Oh,  he's  an  old  one  at  this  sort  of  game," 
returned  one  of  the  detectives.  "  He  is  a  won 
der  at  opening  safes.  Somebody  told  me  once 
that  he  made  the  assertion  he  could  open  any 
ordinary  office  safe  inside  of  fifteen  minutes. 


l88         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

He's  got  it  all  in  his  finger  ends.  They  are  so 
sensitive  that  when  he  turns  the  safe  knob,  he 
can  feel  every  movement  of  the  tumblers  in 
side." 

"  And  he  is  at  liberty  now  ?  "  asked  Sam. 

"  He  was  the  last  I  heard  of  him.  He  got  out 
of  a  Massachusetts  prison  about  three  months 
ago.  Somebody  told  me  he  was  in  New  York. 
I  haven't  seen  him,  but  if  he  is  here  I  think  we 
can  round  him  up  sooner  or  later." 

"Well,  what  we  want  are  those  bonds,"  de 
clared  Dick. 

"Oh,  sure!  That's  what  we'll  go  after,"  de 
clared  the  detective.  "  Even  if  we  locate  our 
man,  we  won't  arrest  him  until  we  can  get  him 
with  the  goods." 

Following  this  conversation,  the  detectives 
made  a  memorandum  of  all  the  bonds  that  had 
been  taken,  along  with  the  numbers  thereon. 

"  If  the  thief  is  an  old  one  at  the  game,  it's 
not  likely  that  he'll  try  to  use  those  registered 
bonds,"  said  one  of  the  detectives,  "but  he'll  find 
plenty  of  places  where  he  can  use  the  others,  if 
he  knows  the  game." 

"  I'm  inclined  to  agree  with  you  on  one  point," 
said  Dick.  "  And  that  is  that  no  ordinary  per 
son  could  have  worked  the  combination  of  that 
safe.  It  must  have  been  some  professional." 


THE   FIRST   CLEW  18$ 

"  You  are  right,  Mr.  Rover — unless  somebody 
got  the  figures  of  the  combination  on  the  sly," 
answered  the  sleuth;  and  a  few  minutes  later  he 
and  his  fellow-officer  left,  promising  to  make  a 
report  as  soon  as  anything  worth  while  was 
brought  to  light. 

Having  gotten  rid  of  the  detectives  and  also 
of  the  janitor  and  his  family,  the  Rover  boys 
shut  themselves  in  the  inner  office  to  discuss  the 
situation.  They  had  requested  the  authorities  te 
keep  the  whole  matter  quiet  for  the  present,  and 
this  the  detectives  had  agreed  to  do. 

"Now,  first  of  all,  Dick,  tell  us:  Will  this 
loss  affect  any  of  our  other  investments?"  asked 
Tom. 

"  Not  for  the  present,  Tom,  but  how  we  shall 
stand  later  on  if  the  securities  are  not  recov 
ered,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say."  Dick's  face 
clouded.  "  You  see,  it  is  this  way :  We  have  our 
investments  in  the  West  as  well  as  those  we  went 
into  in  Boston  some  time  ago.  We — that  is, 
dad — was  going  to  take  a  loan  on  that  mining 
proposition.  That  would  involve  our  putting  up 
some  of  those  bonds — say  forty  or  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars'  worth — as  collateral  security  with 
the  banks.  Now,  if  we  don't  get  the  bonds  back, 
dad  will  either  have  to  cancel  that  loan  or,  other 
wise,  put  up  something  else  as  security — and 


190         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

.what  else  we  can  put  up  just  now,  I  don't  know. 
It's  a  bad  state  of  affairs." 

" Oh,  we've  just  got  to  get  those  bonds  back!  " 
•cried  Sam,  impulsively.  "We've  just  got  to!" 

"  Easy  enough  to  say,  Sam,  but  wishing  them 
back  isn't  going  to  bring  them  back,"  came  from 
Tom,  grimly. 

"If  we  only  had  a  little  more  of  a  clew  to 
work  on,  we,  ourselves,  might  try  to  get  those 
bonds  back  instead  of  relying  on  the  detectives," 
said  Dick.  "  But  when  you  haven't  any  clews, 
how  are  you  going  to  strike  out?" 

"  We  might  try  to  find  that  strange  man,  who 
ever  he  is,"  suggested  Tom.  "  Although  looking 
for  him  would  be  a  good  deal  like  looking  for 
the  proverbial  pin  in  the  haystack.  I  would 
rather  dig  up  the  whole  of  the  Atlantic  seacoast 
looking  for  Captain  Kidd's  treasure;"  and  he 
smiled  grimly. 


BARTON   PELTER  AGAIN 

"WELL,  Dick,  any  news?" 

"  No,  Tom.    It's  the  same  old  story." 

"  Haven't  the  detectives  been  able  to  locate  that 
fellow  they  thought  might  be  guilty  ? "  put  in 
Sam. 

"  No,  Sam.  They  told  me  up  at  headquarters 
that  all  of  the  three  former  criminals  one  of  the 
detectives  mentioned,  were  nowhere  near  New 
York,  so  far  as  they  could  learn." 

"  Then  if  they  haven't  been  near  this  city,  that 
supposition  of  theirs  falls  through,"  was  Tom's 
comment.  "  What  do  they  propose  to  do  next?  " 

"  I  don't  think  they  know.  Anyway,  they 
didn't  give  me  any  satisfaction;"  and,  hanging 
up  his  hat,  Dick  sank  into  an  office  chair,  look 
ing  much  downcast. 

Several  days  had  passed,  and  during  that  time 

the  Rover  boys  had  done  their  best  to  get  further 

dews  concerning  the  robbery.    From  an  old  man 

who  kept  an  apple  stand  near  the  entrance  of  the 

191 


IQ2         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

building,  they  had  learned  that  the  strange  fellow 
who  had  been  seen  by  Kittie  Donovan  was  a 
man  of  perhaps  forty  years  of  age,  with  a  clean 
shaven  face.  But  more  than  that  the  street  mer 
chant  was  unable  to  say. 

"And  there  are  thousands  of  men  in  New 
York  City  who  are  about  that  age  and  who  have 
clean-shaven  faces,"  had  been  Sam's  comment  on 
learning  this.  "  That  clew  won't  get  us  any 
where.  Now,  if  the  fellow  had  limped,  or  had  a 
crooked  nose " 

"  Sure !  And  a  false  tooth  with  two  spots  of 
gold  and  a  diamond  in  it,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing,"  Tom  had  broken  in.  "  Say,  Sam,  what 
do  you  want,  some  clews  made  to  order?"  and 
he  had  laughed  grimly. 

"  I  must  confess,  I  am  at  my  wits'  end,"  said 
Dick. 

"  What  did  Mr.  Powell  have  to  say  about  it?  " 
questioned  Tom,  for  he  and  Sam  had  been  out 
hunting  for  clews  when  the  lawyer  had  called. 

"What  could  he  say?    He  wasn't  here  when 

I  the  bonds  were  taken.     He  asked  me  about  our 

1  other  investments ;  and  he  said  if  we  got  into 

any  financial   difficulties  through  this  loss,   he 

would  aid  us  all  he  could." 

"  Bully  for  Songbird's  uncle ! "  cried  Sam. 
"He's  as  generous  as  Songbird  himself." 


BARTON  PELTER  AGAIN 


193 


"  What's  bothering  me  is  this,"  continued  the 
oldest  Rover  boy.  "  Sooner  or  later,  if  we  don't 
recover  those  bonds,  we  have  got  to  let  dad  know 
about  the  loss;  and  how  he  is  going  to  take  it,  I 
don't  know." 

"  Oh,  let  us  keep  it  from  him  just  as  long  as 
possible,"  broke  in  Sam,  entreatingly.  "  Why, 
Dick,  you  haven't  any  idea  how  run  down  he 
is,  and  how  nervous !  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  have,  Sam.  And  that  is  what  ifi 
worrying  me.  I  don't  know  if  we  are  doing 
right  to  keep  this  from  him." 

"  Before  we  tell  him  anything,  let  us  consult 
Uncle  Randolph  and  Aunt  Martha,"  said  Tom. 
"If  they  know  the  truth,  that  will  lift  a  little 
of  the  responsibility  from  our  shoulders." 

"  I  am  not  going  to  tell  any  of  them — at  least, 
not  for  a  week  or  so  longer,"  returned  Dick.  "  I 
am  living  in  hope  every  day  that  we'll  get  some 
kind  of  a  clew." 

It  had  rained  hard  the  day  previous,  but  now 
the  sky  was  clear.  With  but  little  to  do  in  the 
offices  that  afternoon  after  three  o'clock,  the 
Rover  boys  took  a  wallc  up  Broadway  from  Wall 
Street  to  where  the  Outlook  Hotel  was  located 

"  It  certainly  is  a  busy  city,"  was  Tom's  com- 
vient,  as  they  came  to  a  temporary  halt  in  front 
of  the  post-office.  "Just  look  at  the  stream  of 


I94         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

humanity  and  the  cars  and  wagons,  not  to  speak 
of  the  automobiles." 

"What  takes  my  eye,  is  the  size  of  so  many 
of  these  buildings,"  declared  Sam.  "  Say,  may 
be  an  earthquake  around  here  wouldn't  do  some 
'» damage ! " 

"And  to  think  of  the  way  the  people  travel!'* 
broke  in  Dick.  "  They  are  down  in  the  ground, 
on  the  street,  and  up  in  the  air,"  and  he  smiled 
a  little  at  the  thought. 

Walking  past  the  post-office,  the  three  youths 
entered  City  Hall  Park,  crossing  the  same  to 
look  at  some  of  the  bulletin  boards  put  out  by 
the  newspapers  located  on  Park  Row. 

"Hello!"  cried  Tom,  suddenly;  and  caught 
each  of  his  brothers  by  the  arm. 

"What  now,  Tom?"  asked  Dick,  quickly. 

"  See  that  fellow  over  there,  leaning  against 
the  fence,  reading  a  newspaper  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  declare !  It  is  Barton  Pelter ! "  ejac 
ulated  Sam. 

"You  mean  Jesse  Pelter's  nephew — the  chap 
you  hauled  out  of  the  river?"  questioned  Dick. 

"  The  same,"  returned  Tom.  "  Say,  I  think 
I'll  go  over  and  talk  to  him,"  he  added,  quickly. 

"He  may  not  want  to  talk  to  you,  Tom," 
interposed  his  younger  brother. 

"I'll  risk  it;"  and  so  speaking,  Tom  stepped 


BARTON  PELTER   AGAIN  195 

forward  and  advanced  to  where  the  other  youth 
was  busy  looking  over  the  sporting  edition  pf 
one  of  the  afternoon  sheets. 

"  What  is  it?  I  don't  seem  to  remember  you/* 
said  Barton  Pelter,  when  Tom  touched  his  arm. 

"  I  am  Tom  Rover,"  was  the  reply.  "  This  is 
my  brother  Sam,  and  this  my  brother  Dick;" 
and  Tom  pointed  to  the  others,  who  were  com 
ing  up. 

"  Oh,  is  that  so ! "  returned  Barton  Pelter,  and 
put  out  his  hand.  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  he 
continued,  somewhat  hesitatingly.  "  Is  this  the 
one  who  helped  to  pull  me  out  of  the  river?  "  and 
he  nodded  towards  Sam. 

"Yes." 

"  I  am  certainly  very  much  obliged'  to  both  of 
you,"  continued  the  young  man,  and  his  face 
showed  that  he  meant  what  he  said.  "  If  it 
hadn't  been  for  you,  I  might  have  been  drowned. 
I  suppose  you — er — you — er — got  my  letter?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  and  we  understood  it,  perfectly," 
returned  Tom,   hastily.     "  It's   all  right.     We 
^didn't  do  so  much,  after  all." 
„     "I  think  you  did  a  good  deal,"  and  Barton 
Pelter  laughed  nervously.    "  You — you  are  now 
in  business  where  my  uncle  used  to  be,  are  you 
not?" 

"  We  are,"   answered  Dick.     "  By  the  way, 


196         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

what  has  become  of  your  uncle?"  he  questioned, 
curiously. 

"  I  don't  know,  exactly.     I  think  though  he 
is  going  East.     Perhaps  to  Boston.     How  is  . 
business  with  you  ?  "  the  young  man  continued, 
hastily,   as   if   he   wanted  to   change   the   sub 
ject. 

"Oh,  business  is  all  right  enough,"  answered 
Dick.  And  then  he  looked  meaningly  at  his 
brothers. 

"  The  trouble  with  us  is,  we've  been  very  un 
fortunate,"  broke  in  Tom,  before  the  others 
could  stop  him.  "We've  just  suffered  a  tre 
mendous  loss." 

"Is  that  so?    In  what  way?" 

Before  answering,  Tom  looked  at  Dick 
"  Shall  I  tell  him?  "  he  questioned,  in  a  low  tone. 

"You  might  as  well,  since  you  have  gone  so 
far,"  was  the  reply.  "  In  fact,  I  don't  know 
that  it  will  do  much  good  to  keep  still  any 
longer." 

"  We've  been  robbed." 

"  You  don't  say  so !    Did  you  lose  much  ?  " 

"We  lost  sixty- four  thousand  dollars'  worth"' 
of  bonds,"  answered  Sam. 

"Oh,  a  bad  business  deal,  I  presume."  And! 
Barton  Pelter  smiled  grimly.  "That's  the  way; 
it  is  in  Wall  Street.  You  are  up  one  day,  and 


BARTON  PELTER  AGAIN  197 

down  the  next.    That's  the  way  it  was  with  my 
uncle." 

"  No,  we  didn't  lose  the  bonds  that  way,"  an- 
vswered  Dick.  "They  were  stolen." 

"  Stolen !    From  where  ?  " 

"From  our  office." 

"Why,  that's  the  worst  I  ever  heard!"  de 
clared  Barton  Pelter,  with  interest.  "Who  was 
it?  Did  some  fellow  sneak  into  your  offices  and 
take  them?" 

"  We  don't  know  how  the  robbery  took  place,* 
answered  Tom.  "  My  brother  put  the  bonds  in 
a  japanned  box  that  was  locked,  and  put  the  box 
in  the  office  safe  one  afternoon.  The  next  morn 
ing  when  he  opened  the  safe,  the  box  with  the 
bonds  was  gone." 

"What's  that!"  exclaimed  the  listener,  excit 
edly.  "  You  had  them  in  a  box,  and  put  the  box 
in  your  safe?  Do  you  mean  the  safe  that  was 
in  the  offices  when  my  uncle  and  Mr.  Japson 
had  it?" 

"  Sure !  it's  the  same  safe,"  answered  Dick. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  know  about  that ! "  gasped 
f  Barton  Pelter.  His  face  showed  increasing  in- 
!  terest.  "  When  was  all  this?  " 

"Just  about  a  week  ago." 

"  Haven't  you  any  clews  to  the  robbery  ?  " 

"Nothing  very  much,"  answered  Dick,  before 


198         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

either  of  his  brothers  could  speak.  "  A  girl  saw 
a  man  leaving  the  building  the  evening  of  the 
robbery,  but  who  he  was,  she  did  not  know." 

"  And  you  say  the  box  was  put  in  the  safe  my 
uncle  used  to  own?"  went  on  the  young  man. 
"Of  course  it  was  locked?" 

"Yes." 

"  Was  it — er — er — was  it — er — that  is,  did  you 
have  the  same  combination  on  it  that  the  lock 
used  to  have  ?  "  stammered  the  other. 

"  No.     I  had  the  combination  changed." 

"  And  you  haven't  got  the  least  idea  then  who 
took  the  bonds  ?  "  questioned  Barton  Pelter. 

"  Not  so  far." 

"  It's  strange.  Say,  that's  a  fierce  loss !  I 
couldn't  lose  that  much;"  and  the  young  man 
laughed  nervously. 

"Are  you  working  in  New  York?"  asked 
Tom,  following  an  awkward  pause. 

"  I  haven't  anything  to  do  just  now,  but  I  am 
hoping  to  get  a  situation  soon,"  answered  Bar 
ton  Pelter.  "  I've  got  to  be  going  now,"  he  add 
ed,  and  after  a  few  words  more,  he  made  his  way 
to  the  elevated  station  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Brooklyn  Bridge. 

"  Evidently  a  pretty  decent  sort  of  a  fellow," 
was  Dick's  comment,  as  the  three  brothers 
walked  over  to  look  at  the  newspaper  bulletin 


BARTON  PELTER   AGAIN  199 

boards.  "  It's  too  bad  he  has  Jesse  Pelter  for 
an  uncle." 

"  That   news    about   our    robbery   seemed    to 

astonish  him,"  said  Sam.     "Did  you  hear  him 

;  ask  about   the  combination   on  the   safe?     He 

must  have  been  wondering  whether  we  suspected 

his  uncle  or  Japson." 

"That  isn't  strange,"  was  Tom's  comment, 
"when  one  knows  what  kind  of  rascals  those 
two  men  are." 

With  the  shadow  of  the  loss  hanging  over 
them  the  Rover  boys  were  in  no  mood  to  amuse 
themselves.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  they  might 
have  gone  to  the  theater  or  some  concert,  or  pos 
sibly  to  some  moving  picture  show.  But,  as  it 
was,  they  spent  most  of  their  time  at  the  offices 
and  the  hotel,  and  in  looking  around  for  clews. 

"  I  received  two  nice  letters  to-day,"  said  Dora 
that  evening,  when  her  husband  and  the  others 
appeared,  and  she  held  up  the  missives.  "  One 
is  from  mamma,  and  she  sends  her  best  love  to 
all  of  you.  The  other  is  from  your  Aunt 
•  Martha." 

"  And  what  does  she  say  about  dad  ?  "  asked 
Dick,  quickly. 

"  She  says  there  is  no  change  in  his  general 
condition,  but  that  he  continues  to  worry  about 
business  matters.  He  wants  to  make  sure  that 


200         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

everything  here,  in  New  York  City,  is  going 
along  all  right." 

"  Poor,  old  dad ! "  murmured  Tom,  and  his 
voice  was  full  of  sympathy.  "We  certainly 
can't  let  him  know  the  truth." 

"  Oh,  not  for  the  world,  Tom ! "  cried  Dora. 

"But  what  are  we  going  to  do  if  the  bonds 
are  not  found  ?  "  questioned  Dick.  "  He  has  got 
to  know  it  some  time." 

"  Well,  put  it  off  as  long  as  you  can,"  returned 
his  wife. 

"  Oh,  if  we  could  only  find  those  bonds ! "  ex 
claimed  Sam.  "  We've  ^wst  got  to  do  it !  Wa've 
got  t» ! " 


CHAPTER   XXI 

DAYS  OF  ANXIOUS  WAITING 

ANOTHER  week  passed  without  bringing  any 
thing  new  to  light  concerning  the  missing  bonds. 
During  that  time  the  Rover  boys  received  two 
visits  from  the  headquarters'  detectives,  and 
were  again  subjected  to  innumerable  questions. 

"We're  on  a  new  tack,"  said  one  of  the 
sleuths.  "I  think  we'll  be  able  to  report  some 
thing  to  you  in  a  few  days." 

"  You  can't  do  it  too  quickly,"  returned  Dick. 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,"  answered  the  detective, 
with  a  short  laugh;  and  then  he  and  his  compan 
ion  backed  themselves  out. 

"  Say,  Dick,  I  don't  take  much  stock  in  those 
fellows,"  was  Tom's  comment.  "  They  are  good 
at  talking,  but  it  looks  to  me  as  if  they  didn't 
know  where  they  were  at." 

"  Exactly  the  way  I  loolc  at  it ! "  broke  in  Sam. 

During  that  time  the  boys  also  received  visits 
'from  several  private  detectives,  all  anxious  to 
take  hold  of  the  case,  but  none  of  them  willing 

2OI 


202         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

to  do  so  without  first  receiving  a  generous  re 
tainer. 

"  I  am  not  going  to  pay  out  anything  in  ad 
vance,"  Dick  told  one  of  these  fellows — a  shabby 
looking  chap.  "  You  locate  the  bonds,  and  you'll 
be  well  paid  for  it." 

"  I  don't  work  unless  I'm  paid  for  it,"  snapped 
the  detective,  and  left  the  offices  quite  indignant. 

"  I  suppose  we  could  get  a  thousand  detectives 
on  this  case  if  we  were  willing  to  put  up  the 
money,"  said  Tom. 

"  It  might  pay  to  hire  some  first-class  man," 
ventured  Sam,  "  but  not  that  sort." 

"  I'll  call  up  Mr.  Powell  and  see  what  he  thinks 
of  it,"  answered  Dick.  'And  a  little  later  he  was 
in  communication  with  Songbird's  uncle  over  the 
telephone. 

"  It  wouldn't  do  any  harm  to  put  some  first- 
class  man  on  the  case,"  said  the  lawyer.  "If  you 
wish  me  to  do  so,  I'll  put  you  in  touch  with  the 
best  detective  agency  in  the  city." 

As  a  result  of  this  talk,  the  Rovers  obtained  the 
address  of  a  detective  whose  name  is  well-known 
in  every  large  city  of  the  United  States.  This, 
man  called  on  them  the  following  day,  and  went 
over  the  case  very  carefully  with  the  youths.  He 
examined  the  safe  and  the  combination  lock,  and 
then  had  a  long  talk  with  Kitty  Donovan  and  her 


DAYS  OF  ANXIOUS   WAITING  203 

father  and  her  mother,  and  also  a  talk  with  the 
old  man  who  kept  the  little  fruit  stand  down 
stairs. 

"  I'll  do  all  I  can,  Mr.  Rover,"  he  said,  when 
he  re-entered  the  offices,  "  but  you  mustn't  expect 
too  much.  This  is  certainly  a  mystery." 

"  Mr.  Bronson  is  the  most  intelligent  detective 
I've  seen  yet,"  said  Sam,  after  the  man  had  de 
parted.  "  He  handles  the  case  as  if  it  was  a  strict 
business  proposition." 

"  That's  what  I  like  to  see,"  declared  Tom. 
"  The  other  kind  of  detective  is  good  enough  for 
a  dime  or  a  half-dime  story  book,  but  he  never 
makes  any  success  of  it  in  real  life." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  now  they  were  in 
New  York,  Tom  and  Sam  had  forgotten  the  Lan- 
ing  girls.  They  had  written  to  Nellie  and  Grace, 
forwarding  the  letters  to  Cedarville  because  Hope 
Seminary  was  on  the  point  of  closing  for  the  sea 
son. 

"  Letters  for  both  of  you ! "  cried  Dora,  when 
they  and  Dick  appeared  at  the  hotel  one  evening 
after  a  rather  strenuous  day  in  the  offices,  where 
all  had  been  busy  forming  their  plans  for  further 
investments. 

"  Good  for  you,  Dora ! "  answered  Tom,  and 
held  out  his  hand  eagerly. 

"  Now  wouldn't  you  like  to  have  it  ?  "  she  an- 


204         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

swered  mischievously,  holding  a  letter  just  out  of 
his  reach. 

"  Where  is  mine  ?  "  demanded  Sam. 

"Oh,  I  thought  you  wouldn't  want  that  so  I 
tore  it  up,"  she  answered,  with  a  twinkle  in  her 
eyes. 

"If  you  don't  give  me  that  letter,  Dora,  some 
thing  is  going  to  happen  to  you,"  went  on  Tom; 
and  now  he  caught  her  by  the  wrist.  "  You  know 
the  forfeit— a  kiss ! " 

"  All  right,  take  your  letter,  Mr.  Can't- Wait," 
she  returned,  and  handed  him  the  missive. 

"  But  you  said  you  had  one  for  me ! "  broke  in 
Sam.  "  Come  now,  Dora,  don't  be  mean." 

"  Oh,  Sam,  it's  only  a  bill." 

"  A  bill !  You  are  fooling ! "  And  then  as  his 
face  fell,  she  did  not  have  the  heart  to  tease  him 
longer,  and  brought  the  letter  forth  from  her 
handbag. 

As  the  lads  had  anticipated,  the  communica 
tions  were  from  Grace  and  Nellie.  In  them  the 
girls  said  that  the  session  at  the  seminary  was 
over,  and  that  the  day  previous  they  had  returned 
to  their  home  on  the  outskirts  of  Cedarville.  Both 
had  passed  in  their  examinations,  for  which  they 
were  exceedingly  thankful. 

"  But  they  haven't  found  that  four-hundred- 
dollar  diamond  ring  yet,"  said  Sam,  after  he  had 


DAYS  OF  ANXIOUS   WAITING  205 

finished  his   letter.     "  It  certainly  is  a  shame ! " 

"  It's  as  great  a  mystery  as  the  disappearance 
of  our  bonds,"  was  Dick's  comment. 

"What  has  Nellie  to  say  about  it,  Tom?" 
questioned  Dora,  anxiously;  for  even  though  she 
was  married  and  away  from  them,  her  two  cous 
ins  were  as  dear  to  her  as  ever. 

"  She  doesn't  say  very  much,"  answered  Tom. 
"  No  one  has  seen  or  heard  anything  about  the 
ring." 

"But  what  of  Miss  Harrow?  How  has  she 
treated  Nellie  since  the  fire  ?  " 

"  She  says  Miss  Harrow  has  not  been  very 
well,  and  consequently  did  not  take  part  in  the 
final  examinations.  Now  the  teacher  has  gone  to 
Asbury  Park,  on  the  New  Jersey  coast,  to  spend 
the  summer." 

"  Perhaps  that  mystery  never  will  be  solved," 
said  Sam.  "  It's  a  jolly  shame,  that's  all  I've  got 
to  say  about  it ! " 

After  dinner  that  evening,  as  it  was  exceed 
ingly  warm,  none  of  the  young  folks  felt  like 
staying  in  the  hotel.  Dick  proposed  that  they  take 
a  stroll  up  Broadway. 

"  We  can  walk  till  we  get  tired,"  he  said,  "  ancf 
then  if  you  feel  like  it,  we  can  jump  into  a  taxi 
and  take  a  ride  around  Central  Park  before  we 
retire." 


206         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"That  will  be  nice,"  returned  Dora;  and  Tom 
and  Sam  said  it  would  suit  them,  too. 

As  usual,  upper  Broadway — commonly  called 

.The  Great  White  Way — was  ablaze  with  electric 

lights.     As  the  young  folks  strolled  along,  the 

'great,  flaring  advertising  signs  perched  on  the 

tops  of  many  of  the  buildings  interested  them 

greatly. 

"  I  heard  yesterday  that  some  of  those  signs 
cost  ten  thousand  dollars  and  more,"  observed 
Sam.  "  What  a  lot  of  money  to  put  into  them !  " 

"  So  it  is,  Sam.  But  think  of  all  the  money 
some  firms  spend  in  newspaper  and  magazine  ad 
vertising,"  answered  Dick. 

"  Some  day  we'll  have  to  do  some  advertising 
ourselves,"  put  in  Tom.  "  That  is,  after  we  get 
our  business  in  first-class  running  order." 

"And  get  our  bonds  back,"  added  Dick. 

"  Oh,  say,  let's  forget  those  bonds  for  just  one 
night !  "  entreated  Sam.  "  I  haven't  been  able  to 
get  a  good  night's  sleep  since  I  came  here  because 
of  them." 

The  portion  of  Broadway  where  they  were 
walking,  is  lined  with  innumerable  theaters  and 
moving  picture  places.  They  had  passed  on  less 
than  three  blocks  further,  when  Sam  suddenly 
caught  Tom  by  the  arm. 

"  Here  we  are,  Tom ! "  he  exclaimed,  some- 


DAYS  OF  ANXIOUS   WAITING  207 

what  excitedly.     "  Here's  that  moving  picture." 

"  So  it  is !  "  returned  Tom,  and  immediately  be 
came  as  interested  as  his  younger  brother.  They 
had  come  to  a  halt  before  a  gorgeous  moving 
picture  establishment,  and  on  one  of  the  bill 
boards  they  saw  exhibited  a  flashy  lithograph,  de 
picting  two  men  struggling  in  a  rowboat  with  a 
third  man  on  the  shore  aiming  a  gun  at  one  of  the 
others.  Over  the  picture  were  the  words :  "  His 
Last  Chance.  A  Thrilling  Rural  Drama  in  Two 
Reels." 

"What  is  it,  Tom?"  questioned  Dora. 

"  Why,  that's  the  moving  picture  play  we  told 
you  about — the  one  that  we  got  into  at  the  Oak 
Run  railroad  station,"  explained  the  youth. 
"  That  picture  you  see  there  was  taken  along  the 
river  bank  back  of  our  farm.  Another  picture 
shows  the  railroad  station  at  Oak  Run,  with  old 
Ricks  in  it,  and  still  another  ought  to  show  the 
railroad  train  with  Sam  and  me  on  the  back  plat 
form.  Let  us  go  in  and  see  it." 

"  Why,  yes,  I  want  to  see  that  by  all  means ! " 
declared  Dick's  wife.  "  Won't  it  be  funny  to  see 
you  boys  in  a  moving  picture ! " 

"Well,  I  don't  know  about  this/'  returned 
Dick,  hesitatingly;  and  he  looked  rather  quickly 
at  Tom.  "  Are  you  quite  sure,  Tom,  that  you 
want  to  go  into  a  moving  picture  show?  "  he  went 


208         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

on.  He  had  not  forgotten  how  Tom  had  once 
gone  to  a  moving  picture  exhibition,  and  been 
completely  carried  away  by  a  scene  of  gold  dig 
ging  in  faraway  Alaska,  nor  how  his  poor  broth 
er  had  for  a  time  lost  his  mind  and  wandered  off 
to  the  faraway  territory,  as  related  in  detail  in 
"  The  Rover  Boys  in  Alaska." 

"  Oh,  don't  you  fear  for  me,  Dick ! "  cried 
Tom,  hastily.  "  My  head  is  just  as  good  as  it 
ever  was  and  able  to  stand  a  hundred  moving 
picture  shows.  Come  on  in,  I'll  get  the  tickets;" 
and  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  Tom  stepped 
up  to  the  little  ticket  booth  and  secured  the  neces 
sary  pasteboards. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  AGAIN 

THE  moving  picture  theater  was  fairly  well 
filled,  but  the  four  managed  to  obtain  seats  close 
to  the  middle  of  the  auditorium.  They  had  en 
tered  while  a  slap-dash  comedy  was  being  de 
picted — something  that  set  the  audience  laughing 
heartily.  Then  followed  a  parlor  drama,  which 
was  more  notable  for  its  exhibition  of  fashions 
than  it  was  for  plot  or  acting. 

"This  sort  of  thing  makes  me  tired!"  was 
Tom's  comment.  "I  like  to  see  outdoor  life 
much  better." 

Another  one-reel  comedy  of  life  on  the  canal 
followed  the  parlor  drama,  and  then  there  was 
flashed  on  the  screen  the  words:  "His  Last 
Chance." 

"  Here  we  are ! "  murmured  Sam,  and  sat  bolt^ 
upright  with  renewed  interest,  while  Tom  did 
likewise.  The  first  scene  of  the  drama  showed 
the  interior  of  a  farmhouse  sitting-room  and 
kitchen,  and  the  boys  easily  recognized  several  of 
209 


210         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS. 

the  men  they  had  seen  at  the  river  and  the  rail 
road  station.  There  followed  quite  a  plot  and  a 
number  of  other  scenes  around  the  farm,  and 
also  at  a  stone  quarry  which  all  of  the  lads  recog 
nized  as  being  located  at  Dexter's  Corners.  Then 
came  a  pretty  love  scene  at  the  farmhouse,  fol 
lowed  by  a  quarrel  between  some  of  the  men  in 
an  apple  orchard. 

"  Say,  that's  Blinks'  apple  orchard,  just  as  sure 
as  fate ! "  exclaimed  Dick,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  So  it  is ! "  answered  Sam.  "  Many's  the  time 
we've  got  apples  there !  " 

The  quarrel  in  the  apple  orchard  was  followed 
by  a  fishing  scene  on  the  river  not  far  from 
Humpback  Falls,  where  Sam  once  upon  a  time 
had  had  such  a  strenuous  adventure.  Then  of  a 
sudden  came  the  quarrel  in  the  boat  followed  by 
the  shooting. 

"  Say,  that  looks  just  as  it  did  when  we  saw  it 
taken!"  exclaimed  Sam,  enthusiastically.  "This 
moving  picture  business  is  a  great  thing,  isn't 
it?" 

"  It  isn't  just  as  we  saw  it,"  chuckled  Tom. 
"They  didn't  show  how  that  fellow  who  went 
overboard  came  up  again  and  swam  ashore." 

"  Oh,  that  would  spoil  the  plot  of  the  play," 
answered  his  younger  brother. 

Other  scenes  in  the  drama  were  shown,  one  in 


THB  MOVING  PICTURE  AGAIN          211 

a  barnyard  full  of  cows  being  especially  realistic. 
Then  came  the  scene  inside  the  railroad  station 
at  Oak  Run,  and  all  of  the  boys  and  Dora  laughed 

,  heartily  when  they  saw  the  look  of  astonishment 
on  old  Ricks'  face  as  he  peered  through  his  ticket 

•'  .window  at  the  actor  who  had  come  in  for  a  ticket. 
"  I'd  give  a  dollar  to  have  old  Ricks  here  look 
ing  at  himself,"  whispered  Tom.    "  Wouldn't  he 
be  surprised?" 

"Oh,  look!  look!"  exclaimed  Dora,  in  a  low 
tone.  "  Sam  and  Tom,  I  do  declare !  " 

The  scene  had  shifted  suddenly,  as  do  all  scenes 
in  moving  pictures.  Now  was  shown  the  plat 
form  of  the  Oak  Run  railroad  station.  The  train 
was  coming  in,  and  there  were  Sam  and  Tom  as 
natural  as  life,  dresssuit  cases  in  hand,  ready  to 
get  aboard.  The  train  stopped  and  some  passen 
gers  alighted,  and  Tom  and  Sam  climbed  the  steps 
of  the  last  car. 

"  And  look !    Tom  is  waving  his  hand  to  some 
one,"  went  on  Dick's  wife.    "  Isn't  it  great !  " 
As  the  train  began  to  move  away,  one  of  the 

'  leading  actor*,  m  the  drama  was  seen  to  rush 
across  the  platform  and  grasp  the  rail  of  the  last 
car.  As  he  was  holding  himself  up,  another  of 
the  persons  in  the  drama  rushed  after  the  train, 
shaking  his  fist  wildly;  then  the  train,  with  Tom 
and  Sam  and  the  moving  picture  actor  on  the 


212         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

back  platform,  disappeared  from  view,  and  in  a 
twinkling  the  scene  shifted  back  to  the  farmhouse 
once  more. 

"  Well,  we're  movies'  actors  sure  enough ! " 
was  Tom's  comment,  after  they  had  seen  the  last 
of  the  little  drama  and  were  out  on  Broadway 
once  more.  "  What  do  you  think  of  us,  Dora?  " 

"  Oh,  it  was  fine,  Tom !  "  she  answered.  "  I'd 
like  to  see  it  again." 

"  Well,  they  advertise  it  for  to-morrow,  too," 
said  her  husband,  "  so  you  can  go  in  the  after 
noon  when  we  are  at  the  offices." 

"I'll  certainly  do  it!" 

"  I  shouldn't  mind  seeing  this  picture  again 
myself,"  said  Sam.  "  If  they  have  it  to-morrow 
night,  let's  come  up,  Tom." 

"All  right,  I'm  willing.  I  suppose  they  are 
showing  the  thing  all  over  the  country." 

The  next  day  proved  a  very  busy  one  for  the 
three  Rover  boys,  and  for  the  time  being  the 
moving  picture  was  completely  forgotten.  About 
ten  o'clock,  Mr.  Powell  came  to  see  them  regard 
ing  an  investment  which  Anderson  Rover  had 
made  during  the  time  that  Pelter,  Japson  &  Com 
pany  were  his  brokers.  This  investment  now 
called  for  a  further  outlay  of  a  little  over  seven 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  boys  had  to  find  some 
means  of  raising  that  amount. 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  AGAIN 


213 


"  Now  you  see  if  we  had  those  bonds  handy,  it 
would  be  an  easy  matter  to  put  some  of  them  up 
as  collateral  with  some  of  the  banks;  but,  as  it  is, 
it  is  going  to  squeeze  us,"  said  Dick. 

"  And  you  have  got  to  take  care  of  that  other 
matter  of  twelve  thousand  dollars  the  middle  of 
next  month;  don't  forget  that,"  broke  in  the 
lawyer.  And  then  he  added :  "Of  course,  if  you 
want  money  to  help  you  out " 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Powell,  but  I 
think  I  can  manage  it,"  returned  Dick. 

He  and  his  brothers  had  talked  their  plans  over 
carefully,  and  had  reached  the  conclusion  that 
they  would  not  ask  for  outside  assistance  unless 
it  became  absolutely  necessary.  They  wanted  to 
show  both  their  family  and  their  friends  that 
they  could  "  stand  on  their  own  bottom,"  as  Dick 
expressed  it. 

"  You  have  no  word  in  regard  to  the  bonds  ?  " 
questioned  Mr.  Powell,  when  he  was  ready  to 
leave. 

"Not  a  word.  We  hired  that  detective  you 
recommended,  but  he  said  it  was  a  difficult  case 
to  handle,  and  that  we  must  not  expect  too 
much." 

When  the  Rover  boys  returned  late  that  after 
noon  to  the  Outlook  Hotel,  they  found  that  Dora 
had  gone  out  and  had  not  yet  returned.  She  had 


214         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

left  a  note  on  her  table  stating  that  she  was  go 
ing  to  look  again  at  the  moving  picture  in  which 
Sam  and  Tom  had  taken  part. 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  mustn't  forget  to  go  there  to 
night,  Sam !  "  cried  Tom.  "  It's  better  than  look 
ing  at  yourself  in  the  looking-glass,  isn't  it?  "  and 
he  grinned. 

Six  o'clock  came,  and  then  half-past,  and  still 
Dora  did  not  show  herself.  As  the  time  went  by 
Dick  began  to  get  a  little  worried. 

"  That  show  ought  to  be  out  by  this  time,"  he 
said  to  his  brothers.  "  Generally  those  moving 
picture  places  kind  of  run  down  between  six  and 
seven  o'clock.  If  they  are  continuous  they  throw 
in  some  old  stuff  or  a  lot  of  advertising  matter 
just  to  fill  in  the  time." 

"  Well,  maybe  she  stopped  on  the  way  to  do 
some  shopping,"  suggested  Sam.  "  The  stores 
must  prove  a  great  attraction  to  her." 

"  She  told  me  yesterday  that  she  was  rather 
tired  of  shopping,"  answered  the  young  husband. 
"  You  see,  she  went  at  it  pretty  strong  at  the 
start,  so  there  isn't  so  very  much  left  in  the  way 
Off  novelty.  I  think  I'll  go  down  and  look  for; 
her;"  and  a  minute  later  Dick  left  the  apartment. 

"  It  doesn't  take  much  to  worry  him  when  it: 
concerns  Dora,"  remarked  Tom,  dryly. 

"  Well,  it  wouldn't  take  much  to  worry  you  if 


TH..E  MOVING  PICTURE  AGAIN          215 

it  concerned  Nellie,"  retorted  his  younger  brother. 

"  That's  true,  Sam ;  and  the  same  would  hold 

good  with  you  if  it  were  Grace."    And  then  Tom 

'-dodged  as  Sam  picked  up  a  sofa  pillow  and  threw 

it  at  him. 

The  little  French  clock  belonging  to  Dora  was 
just  chiming  out  the  hour  of  seven  when  the  two 
boys  heard  Dick  and  his  wife  coming  through  the 
hallway.  They  were  talking  earnestly,  and  evi 
dently  the  young  wife  was  quite  excited. 

"  Oh,  such  an  experience  as  I've  had ! "  cried 
Dora,  as  she  came  in  and  sank  down  into  an  easy 
chair. 

"  Well  now,  try  to  calm  yourself,"  said  Dick, 
soothingly.  "  It's  all  over  now." 

"  What  was  it  about?  "  demanded  Tom.  "  Did 
somebody  hold  you  up,  or  try  to  steal  your 
purse?" 

"  Maybe  an  auto  tried  to  run  over  you,"  sug 
gested  Sam. 

"  No,  it  was  none  of  those  things,"  answered 
the  young  wife.  "  I've  just  had  the  strangest 
experience ! " 

"  She  met  that  gardener  you  spoke  about — the 
fellow  who  lost  his  job  at  the  seminary,"  ex 
plained  Dick.    "  That  chap  named  Andy  Royce." 
"Why,  where  did  you  meet  him?"  exclaimed 
Sam.    "  Did  he  know  you?  " 


216         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Yes,  he  knew  me  quite  well.  When  I  was 
at  Hope  he  used  to  do  errands  for  me  now  and 
then  and  I  tipped  him  quite  liberally,  so  he  re 
membered  me,"  answered  Dora. 

"  But  I  met  him  in  the  strangest  way.  He  was 
at  the  subway  station  arguing  with  the  ticket  man, 
who  insisted  upon  it  that  Royce  had  not  put  a 
ticket  in  the  box.  He  wanted  the  gardener  to  put 
another  ticket  in,  and  Royce  said  he  wouldn't  do 
it.  They  had  a  very  warm  dispute,  and  a  police 
man  came  up  to  see  what  it  was  all  about.  Then, 
thinking  that  perhaps  Royce  didn't  have  any  more 
money  with  him — he  looked  terribly  shabby — I 
told  him  I  would  get  another  ticket.  Then  he 
suddenly  broke  down  and  I  thought  he  was  going 
to  cry.  I  paid  for  another  ticket,  then  the  train 
came  along  and  we  both  got  on  board." 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

ON  THE  EAST  SIDE 

"  IF  Royce  began  to  cry  there  must  have  been 
something  radically  wrong  with  him,"  declared 
Tom.  "  Dora,  do  you  think  he  had  been  drink 
ing?  Sometimes  when  men  drink  they  break 
down  and  cry,  you  know." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that,  Tom ;  but 
I  do  know  that  he  acted  the  strangest.  I  asked 
him  if  he  was  working,  and  he  said  no — that  he 
had  been  unable  to  get  a  job  of  any  kind.  Then 
I  questioned  him  about  why  he  had  left  Hope, 
and  he  said  it  was  because  he  could  not  get  along 
with  some  of  the  hired  help  and  with  Miss  Har 
row." 

"  Say ! "  cried  Sam.  "  Did  he  say  anything 
about  that  four-hundred-dollar  diamond  ring  that 
was  missing?" 

"  Why,  no,  Sam.  I  didn't  mention  it,  and  he 
didn't  say  anything  about  it  either.  Perhaps  he 
didn't  know  it  was  missing." 

"  Oh,  he  must  know  about  it,"  broke  in  Tom. 
"  It  was  talked  about  all  over  the  place." 
217 


2:8         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"Well,  what  happened  next?"  questioned 
Dick. 

"  I  talked  to  him  for  awhile,  and  I  found  out 
that  he  was  out  of  work  and  also  out  of  money. 
I  felt  sorry  for  him,  and  I  offered  to  lend  him 
ten  dollars,"  answered  Dora.  "  I  hope  you  don't 
think  I  did  wrong,"  she  went  on,  anxiously. 

"  You  meant  well,  Dora,  I'm  sure  of  that,"  was 
Dick's  quick  reply,  "  but  whether  the  money  will 
do  this  fellow  Royce  any  good  or  not,  is  a  ques 
tion.  If  he  is  a  drinking  man,  he'll  drink  it  up 
very  quickly  and  that  will  be  the  end  of  it." 

"  Did  he  tell  you  where  he  was  staying?  "  asked 
Tom. 

"Why,  yes,  he  gave  me  a  slip  of  paper  with 
his  name  and  address  written  on  it,"  answered 
Dora.  "  You  see,  I  asked  him  to  do  that  because 
I  felt  so  sorry  for  him,  and  1  thought  that  pos 
sibly  you  might  be  able  to  get  him  something  to 
do ; "  and  she  handed  the  slip  of  paper  over  to 
her  husband. 

"  '  The  Golden  Oak  House/  "  read  Dick  from 
the  slip.  "  I  suppose  it  is  one  of  those  cheap 
lodging  houses  on  the  East  Side,"  he  added.  "  I'll ! 
keep  this,  although  I  don't  see  how  we  can  help 
Royce.  And  besides  that  I  am  not  certain  that 
he  deserves  help.  If  he  had  remained  strictly 
sober  he  might  have  kept  his  job  at  the  seminary. 


ON  THE  EAST  SIDE  219 

But  I'll  think  it  over,"  he  added,  hastily,  as  he 
saw  that  Dora  was  much  distressed. 

"  Did  you  see  the  moving  picture  again?  "  ques 
tioned  Tom,  as  all  prepared  to  go  downstairs  for 
dinner. 

"  Oh,  yes ! "  and  the  young  wife  brightened  a 
little.  "  It  certainly  is  splendid,  Tom !  All  of 
you  ought  to  go  and  see  it  before  they  take  it 
away." 

"  All  right,  we'll  do  it ! "  said  Tom.  "  That  is, 
Sam  and  I  will  go.  How  about  it,  Dick?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  hesitated  the  older  broth 
er,  with  a  look  at  Dora. 

"You  just  go,  Dick,"  she  cried,  quickly.  "I 
am  going  to  stay  here  and  write  some  letters. 
You  go  with  Tom  and  Sam  and  enjoy  yourself  ;'r 
and  so  it  was  arranged. 

The  boys  found  the  moving  picture  theater 
pretty  well  crowded,  and  they  had  to  take  seats 
almost  in  the  rear.  Tom  and  Sam  were  once 
more  enjoying  the  spectacle  of  looking  at  them 
selves  when  they  suddenly  heard  a  young  man 
behind  them  utter  an  exclamation. 

"  Hello,  I  know  those  two  fellows ! " 

They  looked  around  and  saw  sitting  there  Bar 
ton  Pelter.  He  was  gazing  at  the  play  on  the 
screen  with  great  interest. 

*'  Come  to  see  us  in  the  movies,  did  you  ? " 


220         THE  ROVER   BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

questioned  Tom,  as  he  leaned  back  and  touched 
Barton  Pelter  on  the  arm.  "  What  do  you  think 
of  it?" 

"  Oh,  so  you  are  here !  "  was  the  reply.  "  Say, 
I  didn't  know  you  were  movies'  actors." 

"  We  are  not.  We  got  into  that  picture  quite 
accidentally,"  explained  Tom.  And  then,  as  the 
scenes  of  the  drama  progressed,  he  and  his  broth 
ers  turned  their  attention  to  what  was  going  on. 

At  the  end  of  the  photo  drama  there  was  a 
short  intermission,  during  which  a  number  of 
persons  went  out  and  an  even  larger  number  came 
in.  There  was  a  seat  vacated  beside  the  Rovers, 
and  Barton  Pelter  took  this. 

"  How  are  you  fellows  making  out  at  your 
offices  ?  "  asked  the  young  man. 

"  Oh,  we  are  doing  as  well  as  can  be  expected," 
answered  Dick.  "  You  know  this  sort  of  thing  is 
rather  new  to  us." 

"  How  about  those  missing  bonds ;  have  you 
located  them  yet?" 

"  No." 

"That's  too  bad,"  and  the  young  man's  face 
showed  his  concern.  "  Have  you  any  idea  where 
they  went  to  ?  " 

"  Not  the  slightest  in  the  world,  Pelter.  It  is 
a  complete  mystery,"  answered  Tom. 

"The  loss  of  such  an  amount  must  hurt  you 


ON  THE  EAST  SIDE  221 

a  whole  lot,"  ventured  Barton  Pelter,  after  a 
slight  pause.     "  It  would  ruin  some  folks." 

"  It  does  hurt  us  a  whole  lot,"  broke  in  Sam, 
"  Unless  we  get  those  bonds  back — or  at  least  a , 
part  of  them — we  are  going  to  have  pretty  hard/ 
sledding  to  pull  through." 

"  It's  a  shame !  I  wish  I  could  do  something 
to  help  you,  for  what  you  did  for  me,"  returned 
Barton  Pelter;  and  his  voice  had  a  rather  wist 
ful  ring  in  it.  Then  the  theater  was  darkened 
and  the  next  photo  drama  began. 

"  Are  you  doing  anything  as  yet?  "  questioned 
Tom,  when,  at  the  end  of  this  play,  he  saw  Jesse 
Pelter's  nephew  prepare  to  leave. 

"  I've  got  something  of  an  offer  to  go  on  the 
road  as  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Consoli 
dated  Cream  Cracker  Company,"  was  the  answer. 
"  It  won't  pay  very  much,  but  it  will  be  better 
than  nothing;"  and  then  the  young  man  left. 

Several  days  went  by  and  the  Rover  boys  put 
in  all  their  time  at  business.  There  was  a  great 
deal  to  do  in  the  way  of  protecting  a  number  of 
rather  uncertain  investments  which  Pelter,  Jap- 
son  &  Company  had  made  for  Mr.  Anderson 
Rover  while  they  were  his  brokers. 

"It's  a  mighty  good  thing  that  we  got  after 
Pelter,  Japson  &  Company  when  we  did,"  was 
Dick's  comment.  "  If  we  hadn't,  they  would  have 


222         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

put  us  in  the  worst  kind  of  a  hole,  even  if  they 
had  remained  honest.  They  had  no  more  concep 
tion  of  what  constitutes  a  good  business  risk  than 
lias  a  baby." 

"  I  do  hope,  Dick,  that  we  make  a  success  of 
,this,"  returned  Tom. 

"  Oh,  don't  say  we're  going  to  make  a  fizzle  of 
it!"  cried  Sam.  "We've  just  got  to  win  out, 
that  is  all  there  is  to  it ! " 

"  Right  you  are !  " 

On  the  following  Monday  afternoon  there  was 
but  little  for  Tom  and  Sam  to  do  at  the  offices, 
and  the  former  suggested  to  his  younger  brother 
that  they  walk  over  to  the  East  Side  and  visit 
The  Golden  Oak  House. 

"  I've  always  wanted  to  see  how  things  look 
over  in  that  part  of  New  York,"  declared  Tom, 
"  and  if  we  run  into  that  Andy  Royce  I'm  going 
to  question  him  and  see  if  he  knows  anything 
about  that  diamond  ring." 

"  How  would  he  know  anything  about  that, 
Tom  ?  He  wasn't  near  the  house  when  the  ring 
;was  lost.  And  besides,  if  he  had  taken  the  ring, 
he  wouldn't  be  so  poverty-stricken.  He  could 
pawn  a  four-hundred-dollar  ring  for  quite  some 
money." 

"  I  didn't  say  that  he  might  have  taken  the  ring, 
Sam.  But  he  was  around  the  place,  and  he  might 


ON   THE  EAST  SIDE  223 

have  heard  something  said  that  would  give  us  a 
clew." 

"  Oh,  that  might  be  possible.  Anyway,  we  can 
question  him,  just  as  you  said." 

The  walk  to  the  East  Side  was  quite  a  revela 
tion  to  the  Rover  boys.  Never  had  they  seen 
such  a  congestion  of  humanity.  The  stores,  the 
houses  and  the  sidewalks  seemed  to  be  overflow 
ing  with  people,  while  the  streets  were  a  jumble 
of  wagons,  trucks  and  push-carts.  Every  conceiv 
able  sort  of  a  thing  seemed  to  be  on  sale,  and  they 
were  solicited  to  buy  at  almost  every  step. 

"They  seem  to  be  mostly  foreigners  over 
here,"  was  Sam's  comment.  "  I  don't  know  as  I 
would  care  to  come  through  here  alone  at  night, 
Tom." 

"  Oh,  you'd  be  as  safe  here  as  on  Broadway," 
was  the  reply.  "These  people  are  poor,  but 
you'll  find  them  just  as  honest  as  anybody." 

The  boys  had  with  them  the  card  that  Andy 
Royce  had  given  to  Dora,  and  it  did  not  take 
them  long  to  find  The  Golden  Oak  House.  It 
was  an  old-fashioned,  frame  building  located  on 
the  corner  of  a  narrow  and  exceedingly  dirty 
alleyway.  Downstairs  there  were  a  saloon  and  a 
pawnshop.  The  so-styled  office  and  the  sleeping 
apartments  were  on  the  three  floors  above. 

"  Not    a    very    inviting   place,"    were    Sam's 


224         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

words,  as  he  looked  the  resort  over.    "  Tom,  do 
you  think  we  had  better  go  in?" 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  it  will  hurt  us,"  was  the 
answer.  "  Come  ahead !  " 

Ascending  the  narrow  and  exceedingly  dirty 
stairs,  the  boys  passed  through  a  dingy  hall  to 
where  a  glass  door  was  marked  "  Office."  Inside 
they  found  a  small  counter  and  rail,  behind  which 
a  man  in  shirt-sleeves  sat  smoking  a  cigar  and 
reading  a  sporting  paper. 

"  Is  there  a  man  stopping  here  named  Andy 
Royce  ? "  asked  Tom,  as  the  man  dropped  his 
paper  to  look  up  at  the  newcomers. 

"  I  think  there  is,  but  I  don't  believe  he's  in 
now,"  was  the  answer.  "Want  to  leave  any 
word  for  him?  " 

Tom  thought  for  a  moment.  "Yes,"  he  an 
swered.  "  I  will  leave  a  message."  And  taking 
out  one  of  his  cards,  he  wrote  on  it :  "  I'll  call 
here  Tuesday  afternoon  at  about  five  o'clock  to 
see  you." 

"  Hope  you've  got  work  for  that  fellow.  He 
needs  a  job  the  worst  way,"  said  the  hotel  man, 
as  he  took  the  card. 

"  I  don't  know  about  a  job  for  him,  but  per 
haps  I  can  help  him,"  answered  Tom.  And  then 
he  and  Sam  left  the  place. 

They  had  just  reached  the  sidewalk  when  they 


ON  THE  EAST  SIDE  225 

beheld  Andy  Royce  coming  towards  them.  The 
former  gardener  of  Hope  Seminary  was  partly 
under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and  several  chil 
dren  were  annoying  him  by  pulling  at  his  coat 
and  calling  him  names. 

"  You  go  'way  an'  leave  me  alone,"  mumbled 
the  man,  'And  then,  as  he  caught  sight  of  the 
Rovers,  he  tried  to  brace  up. 

"  Hello,  you  here !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  we  want  to  talk  to  you,  Royce,"  an 
swered  Tom.  Then  he  motioned  the  children 
away,  and  led  the  former  gardener  of  the  semi 
nary  towards  the  alleyway  beside  the  hotel. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION 

"WANT  to  talk  to  me,  eh?"  mumbled  Andy 
Royce.  "What  you  want,  anyhow?" 

"  See  here,  Royce !  what  is  the  use  of  your 
drinking  like  this  ?  "  broke  in  Sam.  "  Is  that  the 
way  to  use  the  money  my  brother's  wife  loaned 
you?" 

"  I  ain't  been  drinkin',"  mumbled  the  man. 
"  That  is,  I  ain't  had  much." 

"  You've  had  more  than  is  good  for  you,"  put 
in  Tom.  "  A  man  like  you  ought  to  leave  liquor 
alone  entirely." 

"  Maybe  I  would — if  I  had  a  job,"  growled  the 
former  gardener.  "  But  when  a  man  ain't  got 
no  work  an'  no  friends  it's  pretty  hard  on  him;" 
.and  he  showed  signs  of  bursting  into  tears. 

"  See  here,  Royce,  you  brace  up  and  be  a 
man ! "  cried  Tom.  "  Because  you  haven't  any 
position  is  no  reason  at  all  why  you  should  drink. 
You  ought  to  save  every  cent  of  your  money  and 
make  it  last  as  long  as  possible." 
226 


ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION  227 

"  All  right,  just  as  you  say,  Mr.  Rover,"  mum 
bled  the  man. 

It  was  evident  to  the  youths  that  the  man  was 
in  no  condition  to  think  clearly.  Evidently  he 
had  been  drinking  more  or  less  for  a  long  while, 
for  his  face  showed  the  signs  of  this  dissipation. 
His  clothing  was  ragged,  and  he  was  much  in 
need  of  a  shave  and  a  bath.  Certainly  he  did  not 
look  at  all  like  the  gardener  he  had  been  when 
he  had  first  come  to  Hope. 

"  See  here,  Royce,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  few 
questions,"  said  Tom.  "  Do  you  remember  about 
that  diamond  ring  that  disappeared  at  Hope  while 
you  were  there  ?  " 

"Eh?  What?"  stammered  the  former  gar 
dener.  "  Who  said  I  knew  anything  about  that 
ring?"  and  he  showed  confusion. 

"  Did  you  hear  anything  about  it  at  all  ? " 
asked  Sam. 

"  Say,  is  this  a  trap?  "  mumbled  the  man.  "  If 
it  is,  you  ain't  goin'  to  ketch  me  in  it.  Not  much 
you  ain't ! " 

'      "  Look  here !  If  you  know  anything  about  this, 
,  Royce,  you  tell  us,"  declared  Tom,  struck  by  the 
man's  manner. 

"  I  ain't  goin'  to  say  nothin' !  I  didn't  steal  the 
ring ! "  cried  Andy  Royce. 

"But   you   know   something   about   it,    don't 


228         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

you?"  declared  Tom,  sharply;  and  caught  the 
former  gardener  by  the  arm. 

"  Say,  you  lemme  go !    I  ain't  goin'  to  tell  you 
a  thing!"  cried  the  man,  in  alarm.     "You  ain't i 
goin'  to  trap  me  like  this.    I  know  wot  I'm  doin'. 
Lemme  go,  I  say ! "  and  he  tried  to  break  away. 

"  You're  not  going  a  step,  Royce,  until  you  tell 
us  the  truth,"  declared  Tom,  now  quite  satisfied 
in  his  own  mind  that  the  former  gardener  was 
holding  something  back. 

"If  you  took  that  ring  you  had  better  confess," 
broke  in  Sam. 

"  I  didn't  take  it,  I  tell  you,"  muttered  Andy 
Royce.  "You  ain't  goin'  to  get  nothin'  out  o' 
me!  This  is  a  put-up  job!  I  won't  stand  for 
it ! "  And  once  again  he  tried  to  break  away. 
But  each  of  the  boys  held  him  fast. 

"  I  guess  the  best  we  can  do  is  to  call  a  police 
man  and  have  him  locked  up,"  declared  Tom, 
with  a  knowing  look  at  his  brother.  He  had  no 
intention  of  having  the  former  gardener  arrested, 
but  thought  the  threat  would  frighten  the  fellow. 
And  this  was  just  what  it  did.  At  the  mention' 
of  being  locked  up,  Andy  Royce's  courage  seemed 
to  leave  him. 

"No!  No!  Don't  you  do  it!  Please,  gents, 
don't  have  me  locked  up !  "  he  whined.  "  I  didn'f 
take  the  ring ! " 


ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION  229 

"  But  you  know  what  became  of  it,"  declared 
Tom,  sternly.  "So  if  you  didn't  take  it,  who 
aid?" 

"No — nobuddy  took  it,"  stammered  Andy 
Royce. 

"  But  it's  gone,"  came  quickly  from  Sam. 

"  Well,  if  you've  got  to  know  the  truth,  I'll  tell 
you,"  growled  the  man,  staring  unsteadily  at  the 
boys.  "  It's  in  Miss  Harrow's  inkwell." 

"  Miss  Harrow's  Inkwell !  "  repeated  Tom,  in 
credulously. 

"Did  you  put  it  there?"  questioned  Sam. 

"  I  did." 

"Well,  why  in  tHe  world  did  you  do  that?" 
asked  Tom,  and  made  no  effort  to  conceal  his 
wonder. 

"Why  did  I  do  it?"  mumbled  the  man,  un 
steadily.  "I  did  it  to  git  Miss  Harrow  into 
trouble.  I  knowed  she  was  responsible  for  the 
ring." 

"  Then  you  were  in  the  office,"  declared  Sam. 

"  Sure,  I  was  there !  If  I  wasn't,  how  would  I 
ia-seen  that  ring?  I  was  told  that  Miss  Harrow 
wanted  to  see  me,  an'  I  went  to  the  office  just  at 
the  same  time  when  she  came  down  to  the  stables 
where  me  and  two  of  the  other  men  had  had  a 
quarrel.  It  wasn't  my  fault,  that  quarrel  wasn't, 
but  them  other  fellers  put  it  off  on  me  and  said 


230         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

'twas  because  I  had  been  drinkin',"  continued 
Andy  Royce,  with  a  whine.  "  When  I  got  to  the 
office  there  wasn't  nobuddy  around.  I  saw  that 
diamond  ring  layin'  on  the  desk,  and  I  picked  it 

)j 

"  You  were  going  to  steal  it?  "  broke  in  Tom. 

"No,  I  wasn't,  Mr.  Rover.  I  may  drink  a 
little  now  an'  then,  but  I  ain't  no  thief,"  went  on 
Andy  Royce.  "  I  never  stole  anything  in  my  life. 
I  knowed  that  ring,  because  I  saw  Miss  Parsons 
wear  it  more  than  once.  I  was  mad  at  Miss 
Harrow  for  the  way  she  treated  me,  an'  just  out 
of  mischief  I  took  the  ring  an'  opened  the  ink 
well  an'  dropped  it  in.  It  was  in  the  inkwell  that 
had  red  ink  in  it,  an'  the  ring  went  plumb  out  o' 
sight." 

"  And  you  left  the  ring  in  the  inkwell?  "  quer 
ied  Tom. 

"  Sure  I  did !  Then,  not  to  be  seen  in  the  office, 
I  slipped  out  in  a  hurry,  an'  left  the  seminary  by 
the  back  door  an'  ran  to  the  stables.  Miss  Har 
row  was  there.  She  had  told  me  that  she  was 
goin'  to  discharge  me  if  there  was  any  more 
trouble,  so  I  knowed  wot  was  comin'.  Then  I 
quit,  an'  come  away,"  concluded  Andy  Royce. 

"  Well,  of  all  the  things  I  ever  heard  of,  this 
takes  the  cake ! "  was  Sam's  comment. 

*'  If  this  fellow's  story  is  true,  the  ring  ought 


ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION  231 

to  be  in  the  inkwell  yet,"  said  Tom.  "  That  is, 
unless  the  well  was  washed  out  and  put  away  for 
the  summer.  In  that  case  the  person  who  cleaned 
the  well  ought  to  have  found  the  ring." 

"  Sounds  almost  like  a  fairy  tale,"  went  on 
Sam.  "I  don't  know  whether  to  believe  it  or 
not." 

"  It's  the  truth ! "  cried  Andy  Royce. 

"  We'll  believe  it  when  we  see  the  ring,"  re 
turned  Tom,  grimly.  "  I  guess  the  best  thing  you 
can  do,  Royce,  is  to  come  with  us." 

"  Please  don't  have  me  arrested !  I've  told  you 
the  truth,  sure !  " 

"If  you'll  come  with  us  and  behave  yourself, 
we  won't  have  you  arrested,"  answered  Tom. 
"  But  we  are  not  going  to  let  you  get  away  until 
we  have  found  out  if  your  story  is  true." 

"  We  might  telegraph  to  the  seminary  at  once," 
suggested  Sam.  "  Do  you  know  who  is  in  charge 
there  during  the  summer?  " 

"  Why,  I  heard  Nellie  say  that  Miss  Parsons 
took  charge — the  teacher  who  left  the  ring  with 
Miss  Harrow." 

"Then  why  not  telegraph  to  her?" 

"  We'll  do  it !  But  this  fellow  has  got  to  come 
with  us  until  we  are  sure  his  story  is  true." 

Andy  Royce  demurred,  but  the  boys  would  not 
listen  to  him.  They  accompanied  him  to  his  room 


232         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

upstairs,  and  made  him  pack  up  his  belongings 
and  pay  his  bill.  Then,  somewhat  sobered  by 
what  was  taking  place,  the  gardener  accompanied 
them  downstairs  and  to  the  street.  Here  the  boys 
hailed  a  passing  taxicab  that  was  empty,  and  or 
dered  the  driver  to  take  them  as  quickly  as  pos 
sible  to  the  Outlook  Hotel. 

"  It  certainly  is  a  queer  story,"  said  Dick,  who 
had  just  arrived  from  the  office,  "  but  it  may  be 
true.  People  do  queer  things  sometimes,  espe 
cially  when  they  are  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 
He  probably  had  a  grudge  against  Miss  Harrow, 
and  thought  the  disappearance  of  the  ring  would 
get  her  into  trouble,  just  as  he  said." 

"  Oh,  I  hope  they  do  find  the  ring ! "  cried 
Tom.  "  It  will  be  great  news  for  Nellie." 

It  was  arranged  that  Andy  Royce  should  ac 
company  Dick  and  Sam  to  the  smoking  room  of 
the  hotel,  and  remain  there  until  Tom  had  tele 
graphed  to  Hope  Seminary  and  received  a  reply. 

"  You  had  better  run  upstairs  and  see  Dora 
first,"  suggested  Dick,  "  and  make  sure  as  to  who 
is  in  charge  at  the  seminary.  If  there  are  two 
persons  there,  you  had  better  telegraph  to  both  of 
them  so  that  they  can  unite  in  looking  for  the 
ring." 

Dora  was  in  a  flutter  of  excitement  when  told 
of  what  had  occurred.  She  remembered  about 


ANDY  ROYCE'S  CONFESSION  233 

Miss  Parsons,  and  said  that  there  was  also  a 
housekeeper  named  Mrs.  Lacy  in  charge.  Armed 
with  this  information  Tom  sent  off  two  tele 
grams,  each  reading  as  follows : 

"  Look  for  missing  diamond  ring  in  Miss 
Harrow's  red-ink  inkwell.  If  found,  answer  at 
once. 

"THOMAS  ROVER, 
"  Outlook  Hotel, 
"  New  York  City." 

"  They  were  mighty  funny  telegrams  to  send," 
said  Tom,  when  he  rejoined  his  brothers  in  the 
hotel  smoking  room.  "Perhaps  they  won't  know 
what  to  make  of  them." 

"  I  am  afraid  we'll  have  to  wait  quite  a  while 
for  an  answer,"  returned  Dick. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know.  They  can  telephone  the 
messages  up  to  the  seminary  from  the  telegraph 
office." 

"  They'll  find  the  ring  just  as  I  said  unless 
somebuddy  cleaned  out  the  inkwell  and  took  it," 
declared  Andy  Royce,  who  was  rapidly  sobering 
up  because  of  the  turn  of  affairs. 

As  it  was  getting  late,  it  was  decided  that  Dick 
should  go  to  dinner  with  Dora  as  usual,  while 
Tom  and  Sam  took  the  former  gardener  to  a 


234         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

corner  of  the  restaurant  for  something  to  eat 

"  I  don't  feel  much  like  filling  up,"  said  Sam. 
"  I'm  on  pins  and  needles  about  an  answer  to 
those  messages  you  sent,  Tom." 

"  Exactly  the  way  I  feel,  Sam.  But  we'll  have 
to  have  patience,  I  suppose." 

The  meal  at  an  end,  Dora  went  upstairs,  and 
Dick  rejoined  his  brothers  and  Andy  Royce  in 
the  smoking  room.  Tom  had  left  word  at  the 
hotel  telegraph  office  that  any  message  which 
might  come  in  for  hirq  must  be  delivered  at  once. 

"  Here  comes  a  bellboy  now ! "  cried  Dick, 
presently. 

"Mr.  Rover!  Mr.  Rover!"  cried  the  boy, 
walking  from  one  group  of  persons  to  another. 

"  Here  you  are !  here  you  are,  boy ! "  cried 
Tom,  leaping  up ;  and  in  another  moment  he  had 
a  telegram  in  his  hand  and  was  tearing  it  open 
to  see  what  it  contained. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

MORE  TELEGRAMS 

"WHO  is  it  from,  Tom?" 

"Read  it  out  loud!" 

Such  were  the  exclamations  from  Sam  and 
Dick  as  their  brother  scanned  the  telegram  in 
haste. 

"  Hurrah !  they've  found  it ! "  broke  out  Tom. 
"  This  is  the  best  yet !  " 

"Good!" 

"Fine!" 

"This  is  from  Miss  Clara  Parsons,"  went  on 
Tom,  "  the  teacher  who  owned  the  ring.  Here, 
you  can  read  the  telegram  if  you  want  to,"  and 
he  passed  the  sheet  over.  The  message  ran  as 
follows : 

"Ring  found  in  inkwell.  Perfect  condition. 
Did  Miss  Laning  put  it  there? 

"  CLARA  PARSONS." 

"  Short  and  sweet,  but  it  tells  the  story,"  was 
235 


236         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

Dick's  comment  "  Say,  I'm  mighty  glad  of  this," 
he  added,  and  his  face  showed  his  pleasure. 
"That  clears  Nellie,  Tom.  You'll  have  to  let 
her  know  at  once." 

"  I  sure  will !  "  exclaimed  the  brother.  "  But 
say,  did  you  notice  what  Miss  Parsons  wants  to 
know — if  Nellie  put  the  ring  in  the  inkwell? 
Talk  about  nerve ! " 

"  You  can't  exactly  blame  her,  Tom,  because 
she  knew  nothing  of  Royce's  visit  to  the  office; 
and  as  you  sent  the  message,  and  you  and  Nellie 
are  so  intimate " 

"  Oh,  I  understand,  Dick ;  and  I  shan't  blame 
her.  I'm  too  happy  to  blame  anybody,"  and 
Tom's  face  broke  into  a  broad  smile.  "  I'm  going 
to  send  a  telegram  to  Cedarville  this  minute." 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  gents  the  ring  was  there  ?  " 
broke  in  Andy  Royce.  "I  told  you  the  truth, 
didn't  I?" 

"  You  did,  Royce,"  answered  Dick. 

"An*  wot  about  it,  are  you  goin'  to  lemme 
go  ?  "  questioned  the  former  gardener,  eagerly. 

"  Not  just  yet,"  broke  in  Tom. 

"Why  not?  You  can't  hold  me  for  stealin* 
;when  there  wasn't  nuthin'  taken." 

"  That  is  true,  Royce,  but  we  want  you  to  sign 
a  confession  as  to  just  how  that  ring  got  in  the 
inkwell.  If  you  don't  do  that,  the  seminary  au» 


MORE   TELEGRAMS  237 

thorities  may  still  think  it  was  placed  there  by 
Miss  Laning." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  want  to  put  nuthin'  off  on  Miss 
Laning's  shoulders,"  answered  the  former  gar 
dener.     "If  you  want  a  confession  from  me  sor 
as  you  can  clear  her,  go  ahead !  " 

"  Wait  here  until  I've  sent  that  telegram,"  Tom 
said,  hastily;  and  rushed  off  once  more  to  the 
telegraph  office,  where  he  sent  the  following  to 
Nellie: 

"Ring  recovered.  Was  hidden  in  inkwell  by 
Royce.  We  have  gardener's  confession.  Hurrah ! 
Will  write  particulars. 

"  TOM." 

"  I  hope  she  gets  that  before  she  goes  to  bed 
to-night,"  mused  the  youth.  "  If  she  does  it  will 
make  her  sleep  so  much  better." 

There  was  a  stenographer's  office  attached  to 
the  Outlook  Hotel,  and  late  as  it  was,  the  young 
lady  was  found  at  her  typewriter,  pounding  out 
a  letter  for  a  commercial  traveler.  rAs  soon  as 
this  was  finished,  the  stenographer  was  asked  to 
take  down  whatever  !ffindy  Royce  might  have  to 
tell.  The  former  gardener  was  "Brought  in,  an'd 
repeated  the  confession  he  ha3  previously  made. 
This  was  typewritten  as  speedily  as  possible,  and 


238         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

then  Andy  Royce  signed  the  confession  in  the 
presence  of  one  of  the  hotel  clerks  and  a  notary 
who  lived  at  the  hotel. 

"  Now  I  think  that  fixes  it,"  said  Tom.  "  Miss 
Parsons  won't  be  able  to  go  behind  that  confes 
sion." 

"  Are  you  goin'  to  let  me  go  now?  "  asked  the 
former  gardener  of  Hope. 

"  Yes,  you  can  go,  Royce,"  answered  Tom. 
"But  wait  a  minute.  How  much  money  have 
you  left  of  that  ten  dollars  my  brother's  wife  let 
you  have?" 

For  reply  the  man  dove  down  in  his  pocket, 
and  brought  out  some  change. 

"  Eighty-five  cents." 

"That's  all?" 

"Yes." 

"  See  here,  if  I  stake  you  with  another  ten 
dollars,  will  you  give  me  your  word  not  to  drink 
it  up?" 

"  I  will,  Mr.  Rover,  I  will ! "  exclaimed  Andy 
Royce,  earnestly. 

"All  right,  then,  here's  the  money;"  and  Tom 
brought  out  two  five-dollar  bills  and  placed  them 
in  the  man's  hands.  "Now  look  here,  unless  you 
can  find  something  to  do,  you  come  here  and  see 
me  again  in  a  few  days." 

"  But  see  here,  Tom,"  interposed  Dick,  in  a 


MORE   TELEGRAMS  239 

low  voice,  "  I  don't  think  we  can  use  Royce  in 
anyway.  kWhy  not  let  him  go?  As  a  gardener 
he  is  out  of  place  in  a  big  city  like  New  York." 

"  I  want  him  to  stay  here  for  two  reasons/' 
answered  Tom.  "  In  the  first  place  I  want  him 
on  hand  in  case  the  authorities  at  the  seminary 
need  him.  In  the  second  place,  I  am  going  to 
put  the  matter  squarely  up  to  Miss  Harrow.  She 
thought  Nellie  guilty,  and  she  may  have  thought 
Royce  worse  than  he  really  was.  Perhaps  I  can 
get  her  to  give  Royce  another  chance.  I  think  he 
would  be  all  right  if  he  would  only  let  drink 
alone." 

"  The  same  old  warm-hearted  Tom  as  of  old !  " 
responded  Dick.  "  All  right,  have  your  own  way 
about  it." 

After  the  former  gardener  had  departed  the 
boys  went  upstairs  to  join  Dora,  and  then  Tom 
and  Sam  sat  down  to  write  letters  of  explanation 
to  Nellie  and  Grace ;  and  these  epistles  were  post 
ed  before  the  youths  retired  for  the  night. 

"  Oh,  how  glad  Nellie  must  be  to  have  this 
weight  off  her  shoulders !  "  exclaimed  Dora.  "  It 
inust  have  been  awful  to  be  suspected  of  taking  a 
ring." 

"  I  guess  Miss  Harrow  will  be  relieved,  too," 
answered  Tom.  "  I  wonder  where  she  is  stop 
ping  in  Asbury  Park/' 


240         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  I  think  I  know,"  returned  Dick's  wife.  "  She 
and  some  of  the  other  teachers  usually  go  to  the 
Claravale  House." 

"  I'll  take  a  chance  and  telegraph  to  her,"  went 
on  Tom.  "  It  won't  cost  much  and  it  may  relieve 
her  mind.  Those  folks  up  at  the  seminary  may 
wait  to  send  a  letter."  And  going  downstairs 
once  more,  Tom  wrote  out  another  brief  tele 
gram,  and  asked  that  it  be  sent  off  immediately. 

"  If  only  we  could  clear  up  this  mystery  of  the 
missing  bonds  as  easily  as  we  did  this  ring  busi 
ness  ! "  came  from  Sam,  when  he  and  Tom  had 
said  good-night  to  Dick  and  his  wife. 

"  I'm  afraid  that's  not  going  to  be  so  easy, 
Sam.  Sometimes  I  think  that  we'll  never  hear 
a  word  more  about  those  bonds;"  and  Tom 
heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

"Oh,  but,  Tom,  if  we  don't  get  those  bonds 
back  we'll  be  in  a  hole ! "  cried  the  youngest 
Rover,  in  dismay. 

"  We  may  not  be  in  a  hole  exactly,  Sam ;  but 
•we'll  have  a  tough  job  of  it  pulling  through,"  was 
the  grim  response. 

Tom  had  worried  more  about  the  missing  ring 
than  he  had  been  willing  to  admit  to  his  brothers, 
and  now  that  this  was  off  his  mind,  he,  on  the 
following  morning,  pitched  into  business  with  re 
newed  vigor.  He  and  Dick  had  their  hands  full, 
going  over  a  great  mass  of  figures  and  calcula- 


MORE   TELEGRAMS  24* 

tions,  and  in  deciding  the  important  question  of 
how  to  take  care  of  certain  investments.  Sam 
did  what  he  could  to  help  them,  although,  as  he 
frankly  admitted,  he  did  not  take  to  bookkeeping 
or  anything  that  smacked  of  high  finances. 

"  I  was  not  cut  out  for  it,  and  that  is  all  there " 
is  to  it,"  he  declared.    "  But  I  ara  willing  to  help 
you  all  I  can." 

Sam  had  gone  off  on  an  errand,  leaving  his 
brothers  deep  in  their  figures,  when  the  office  boy 
announced  a  visitor. 

"  Mr.  Mallin  Aronson,"  said  Dick,  glancing  at 
the  visitor's  card.  "  Oh,  yes,  I've  heard  of  him 
before.  He  and  father  had  some  stock  dealings 
a  year  or  so  ago.  Bring  him  in." 

Mr.  Aronson  proved  to  be  a  small,  dark-com 
plexioned  man,  with  heavy  eyebrows  and  a  heav 
ily-bearded  face.  He  bowed  profoundly  as  he 
entered. 

"  Mr.  Richard  Rover,  I  believe  ?  "  he  said,  ex 
tending  his  hand. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Aronson.  And  this  is  my  brother 
Tom,"  returned  Dkk. 

"Very  glad  to  know  you;"  and  the  visitor< 
bowed  again.  "I  presume  you  know  what 
brought  me  here/'  he  went  on,  with  a  bland  smile. 

"  I  can't  say  that  I  do,"  returned  Dick. 

"Your  father — is  he  not  here?" 

"  No,  he  is  at  home  sick." 


242 


THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 


"  Is  that  so  ?  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it  Then 
you  are  transacting  his  business  for  him?  " 

"  Yes,  my  brother  and  I  are  running  this  busi 
ness  now." 

"And  yet  you  said  you  did  not  know  why  I 
had  called,"  continued  Mr.  Aronson,  in  apparent 
astonishment.  "That  is  strange.  Did  not  your 
father  tell  you  about  his  investment  in  the  Sharon 
Valley  Land  Company  ?  " 

"  I  never  heard  of  the  company  before,"  re 
turned  Dick,  promptly. 

"  I  heard  my  father  mention  it,"  put  in  Tom, 
"  but  I  never  knew  that  he  had  made  any  invest 
ment  in  it." 

"  What  ?  How  surprising !  "  ejaculated  the  vis 
itor.  "He  has  something  like  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  invested  in  that  concern,  for  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be  the  agent.  He  has  another  pay 
ment  to  make  on  the  investment,  and  that  pay 
ment  falls  due  just  a  week  from  to-day.  Some 
time  ago  he  asked  me  if  that  payment  might  not 
be  deferred.  I  put  it  up  to  the  managers  of  the 
company,  and  they  have  now  sent  me  word  that 
the  payment  will  have  to  be  made  on  the  day  that 
it  falls  due." 

"And  how  much  is  that  payment?"  faltered 
Dick. 

"  Twenty  thousand  dollars." 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

IN  WHICH  THE  GIRLS  ARRIVE 

BOTH  of  the  Rover  boys  stared  blankly  at  the 
visitor.  His  announcement  had  come  very  much 
like  a  clap  of  thunder  out  of  a  clear  sky.  For 
the  moment  neither  of  them  knew  what  to  say. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  did  not  know  about  this," 
pursued  Mallin  Aronson,  when  he  saw  by  their 
looks  how  much  they  were  disturbed.  "  Perhaps 
your  dear  father  was  taken  sick  so  quickly  that 
he  did  not  have  a  chance  to  explain  the  situation." 

"  He  hasn't  been  well  for  a  long  while,  but  I 
thought  he  had  turned  over  all  his  business  affairs 
to  us,"  answered  Dick.  "  It  is  queer  that  we  have 
no  record  of  this  Sharon  Valley  Land  Company 
investment,"  he  added,  turning  to  Tom. 

"  Have  you  gone  over  all  the  papers,  Dick  ?  " 
questioned  the  brother,  quickly. 

"The  most  of  them.  That  is,  all  that  I 
thought  were  of  any  importance.  There  are  a 
great  number  that  I  haven't  had  time  to  look  at 
yet.  You  know  how  numerous  father's  invest 
ments  are." 

243 


244         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  If  you  have  no  record  of  the  transaction  here, 
can  you  not  ask  your  father  about  it  ?  "  questioned 
Mr.  Aronson,  smoothly. 

"  He  is  too  sick  to  be  disturbed,  Mr.  Aronson," 
answered  Dick. 

"  Well,  if  you  care  to  do  so,  you  can  stop  at 
my  office  and  look  over  the  account  there,"  went 
on  the  visitor. 

"  And  you  say  this  twenty  thousand  dollars  has 
got  to  be  paid  a  week  from  to-day  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Rover.  The  management  will  grant 
no  extension  of  time." 

"  Supposing  it  isn't  paid  ?  "  questioned  Dick. 

At  this  suggestion  Mallin  Aronson  shrugged 
his  shoulders  and  put  up  his  hands. 

"  I  am  sorry,  but  you  know  how  some  of  these 
land  company  people  are,"  he  returned.  "  This 
money  must  be  paid  in  order  to  clear  the  land.  If 
it  is  not  cleared  the  company  has  the  right  to  sell 
your  father's  interest  to  others.  As  I  said  before, 
he  has  paid  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  What  his 
interest  would  bring  if  sold  to  somebody  else,  I 
do  not  know." 

"  Probably  not  very  much/*   returned  Dick, ' 
quickly.     "  Probably  some  of  the  land  company 
people  would  buy  it  in  for  a  song,"  he  added, 
bitterly. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Rover,  that  is  not  my  affair,"  and 


245 

Mr.  Aronson  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  came 
in  only  to  serve  you  notice  that  the  twenty  thou 
sand  dollars  will  have  to  be  paid  one  week  from 
to-day." 

"  Where  are  your  offices,  Mr.  Aronson?  " 

"You  will  find  my  address  on  the  card,"  was 
the  answer.  "If  you  wish  any  more  information, 
I  shall  be  pleased  to  give  it  to  you;"  and  then  the 
visitor  bowed  himself  out. 

It  was  a  great  blow,  and  the  two  youths  felt 
it  keenly.  Ever  since  the  loss  of  the  sixty-four 
thousand  dollars  in  bonds  they  had  been  strug 
gling  with  might  and  main  to  cover  one  obliga 
tion  after  another.  To  do  this  had  taxed  about 
every  resource  that  Dick  could  think  of  aside 
from  borrowing  from  friends  without  putting  up 
any  security — something  the  youth  shrank  from 
doing. 

"  Say,  Dick,  this  is  fierce ! "  exclaimed  Tom. 
"What  are  we  going  to  do  about  it?  " 

"  I  don't  know  yet,"  was  the  slow  reply.  "  I 
can't  understand  why  father  didn't  mention  this 
.investment  to  me." 

"  He  must  have  'ielt  so  sick  ttiat  he  forgot  all 
about  it.  You  don't  Vnagine  that  there  is  any 
thing  wrong  about  it?  " 

"'Oh,  no!  I  guess  it  is  all  straight  enough. 
Aronson  must  know  that  he  couldn't  get  any  such 


246         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

money  out  of  us  unless  everything  was  as  straight 
as  a  string." 

"  Perhaps  Mr.  Powell  could  get  the  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  us." 

"Maybe  he  could.  But  that  isn't  the  point.,,' 
Tom.  I  told  you  before  that  we  want  to  '  stand 
on  our  own  bottom.'  Besides,  it  isn't  a  fair  thing- 
to  ask  any  one  to  put  up  money  like  that  without 
offering  good  security." 

"  But  we  don't  want  to  lose  the  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  that  father  has  already  invested." 

"  I  know  that,  too.  It's  a  miserable  affair  all 
around,  isn't  it  ?  "  And  Dick  sighed  deeply. 

When  Sam  came  back  from  his  errand  he 
brought  news  that  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  interested  his  brothers  very  much. 

"  I  was  coming  through  Union  Square  Park 
when  whom  should  I  see  on  one  of  the  benches 
but  Josiah  Crabtree ! "  he  exclaimed. 

"  Crabtree !  "  cried  Tom.  "  Then  he  must  be 
out  of  the  hospital  at  last!  How  did  he  look?" 

"  He  looked  very  pale  and  thin,  and  he  had  a 
pair  of  crutches  with  him,"  answered  Sam.  "  I 
didn't  see  him  walk,  but  I  suppose  he  must  limp 
pretty  badly,  or  he  wouldn't  have  had  tha 
crutches." 

"  Did  you  speak  to  him  ?  "  questioned  Dick. 

"  No.    At  first  I  thought  I  would  do  so,  but  he 


IN  WHICH  THE  GIRLS  ARRIVE  247 

looked  so  down-and-out  that  I  didn't  have  the 
heart  to  say  anything  and  perhaps  make  him  feel 
worse." 

"  Do  you  suppose  he  has  any  money  ?  "  asked 
'Tom. 

"  He  didn't  look  as  if  he  had.  But  you  never 
can  tell  with  such  fellows  as  Crabtree — he  was  a 
good  deal  of  a  miser." 

"  What  a  misspent  life  his  has  been ! "  was 
Dick's  comment.  "  I  am  mighty  glad  that  he 
didn't  get  the  chance  to  marry  Mrs.  Stanhope." 

"  Right  you  are,  Dick !  "  returned  Tom.  "  He'd 
make  a  hard  kind  of  a  father-in-law  to  swallow !  " 

It  did  not  take  long  for  Dick  and  Tom  to  ac 
quaint  Sam  with  the  new  money  problem  that 
confronted  them,  and  the  youngest  Rover  became 
equally  worried  over  the  situation. 

"  I  think  we  had  better  write  to  Uncle  Ran 
dolph  and  see  if  he  can  find  out  a  little  about  this 
land  company  affair  from  father  without,  of 
course,  worrying  him  too  much,"  suggested  Dick. 
"  There  may  be  some  loophole  out  of  this  trouble 
,' — although  I  am  afraid  there  isn't." 

"  All  right,  we'll  do  it,"  said  Tom,  and  the  let 
ter  was  written  at  once,  and  sent  to  Dexter's 
Corners  with  a  special  delivery  stamp  attached. 

On  the  following  afternoon  when  Tom  and 
Sam  got  back  to  the  hotel,  a  surprise  awaited 


248         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

them.  Going  up  to  the  suite  occupied  by  Dick 
and  Dora,  the  brothers  found  themselves  con 
fronted  by  Nellie  and  Grace. 

"  Oh,  Tom ! "  was  all  Nellie  could  say.  And 
then  coming  straight  forward  she  threw  feersel! 
into  his  arms  and  burst  into  tears. 

"  Now — now,  don't  go  on  this  way,  Nellie,** 
he  stammered,  not  knowing  what  to  say.  "  It's 
all  right.  They've  got  the  ring  and  you  are 
cleared.  What's  the  use  of  crying  about  it 
now?" 

"Oh,  but— but  I  can't  help  it!"  sobbed  the 
girl.  "  You  don't  know  how  I  have  suffered !  I 
couldn't  sleep  nights,  or  anything !  Oh,  Tom !  it 
was  grand — the  way  you  got  that  gardener  to 
confess ;"  and  she  clung  to  him  tighter  than  ever. 

"  And  to  think  he  put  the  ring  in  the  inkwell !  " 
cried  Grace.  "  What  a  ridiculous  thing  to  do ! " 

"  He  must  have  done  it  on  the  spur  of  the  mo 
ment,"  said  Sam.  "But  say.  I'm  mighty  glad 
that  affair  is  cleared  up ! "  he  added,  his  face 
beaming. 

Then  all  of  the  young  folks  sat  down,  and 
the  story  had  to  be  told  once  more  in  all  of  its* 
details. 

"  I  just  had  to  come  on !  I  couldn't  stay  home 
after  I  got  the  telegram  and  the  letter,"  explained 
Nellie,  "  so  I  sent  a  telegram  to  Dora." 


IN  WHICH  THE  GIRLS  ARRIVE          249 

"  We  planned  to  surprise  you,"  put  in  Grace. 

"  And  it  is  a  surprise,  and  a  nice  one,"  returned 
Sam.  Soon  Dick,  who  had  been  somewhat  de 
tained,  came  in,  and  then  there  was  more  excite 
ment. 

"Well,  what  about  accommodations  for  the 
girls  ?  "  asked  Dick,  who  never  forgot  the  prac 
tical  side  of  matters. 

"  Oh,  that  is  all  arranged,  Dick,"  answered  his 
wife.  "  I  have  a  room  for  them,  and  as  your  wife 
I  am  to  be  their  chaperon ;"  and  she  smiled  bright 
ly  as  she  passed  her  hand  over  his  forehead. 
"  Poor  boy,  with  so  much  to  do ! "  she  added, 
affectionately. 

It  was  a  happy  gathering,  and  for  the  time 
being  the  Rover  boys  did  their  best  to  forget  their 
troubles.  They  had  a  somewhat  elaborate  din 
ner,  and  then  Tom  and  Sam  took  the  newcomers 
out  for  a  walk  up  "  The  Great  White  Way." 
Dick  said  he  would  remain  at  the  hotel  with  his 
wife,  as  he  wanted  to  write  some  letters. 

"Might  as  well  let  them  have  their  fling,"  he 
said,  after  the  others  had  departed.  "  That's  the 
way  we  wanted  it  before  we  were  married;"  and 
lie  gave  his  wife  a  hug  and  a  kiss. 

Of  course  the  girls  from  Cedarville  had  a  great 
deal  to  tell,  and  Tom  and  Sam  had  a  great  deal 
to  relate  in  return.  The  two  couples  strolled  on 


250         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

and  on,  and  it  was  near  eleven  o'clock  before  they 
returned  to  the  Outlook  Hotel. 

"And  so  you  are  going  to  be  a  real  business 
man,  are  you,  Tom?"  said  Nellie,  during  the 
course  of  the  walk. 

"  I  am  going  to  try  to  be,  Nellie,"  he  answered. 
"  Of  course  it  is  something  of  a  job  for  a  fellow 
who  is  full  of  fun  to  settle  down.  I  need  help." 
And  he  looked  at  her  wistfully. 

"  Oh,  Tom,  if  you  would  only  settle  your 
mind " 

"  There's  no  use  in  talking,  Nellie,  I  won't  be 
able  to  settle  down  in  the  really-and-truly  fashion 
until  I  am  married,"  retorted  the  fun-loving 
Rover.  "  You  have  got  to  be  the  one  to  settle 
me." 

"  Tom  Rover,  if  you  talk  like  that  I'll  box  your 
ears!" 

"  All  right,  anything  you  say  goes,  Nellie.  Only 
tell  me,  aren't  we  going  to  be  married  some  time 
this  Fall  or  Winter?" 

"Tom!" 

"Well,  aren't  we?" 

"  Oh,  maybe.  But  you  come  on !  We  are  ouV- 
for  a  walk,  and  here  we  are  standing  stock-still 
in  the  middle  of  the  sidewalk  with  folks  all 
around  us.  Come  on !  If  you  don't  come  I  will 
leave  you;"  and  Nellie  started  on,  dragging  Tom 
with  her. 


"OH,    TOM!"    WAS    ALL   NELLIE  COULD  SAY. 
The  Rover  Boys  in  Business, 


fage  248 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SAFE 

DICK  was  at  his  desk  sorting  out  his  morning 
mail.  He  was  rather  downcast,  for  the  past  two 
days  had  brought  no  news  regarding  the  missing 
bonds.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  received  word 
from  his  uncle  that  the  investment  in  the  Sharon 
Valley  Land  Company  was  a  perfectly  legitimate 
one,  and  that  Mr.  Aronson's  claim  would  have  to 
be  met 

"And  how  we  are  going  to  meet  it,  I  don't 
know,"  said  Dick,  in  speaking  of  the  matter  to 
his  brothers.  "  It  certainly  is  tough  luck  to  have 
these  obligations  pouring  in  on  us  at  just  this 
time." 

"  Well,  there  is  one  bright  spot  in  uncle's  let 
ter,"  returned  Sam.  "  He  says  dad  is  feeling 
somewhat  better.  I  am  mighty  glad  of  that." 

"  I  guess  we  all  are,"  broke  in  Tom.  "  Just  the 
same,  I  agree  with  Dkk.  The  financial  outlook 
is  mighty  gloomy." 

There  were  other  letters  besides  business  com- 
251 


252         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

munications  for  the  boys.  Songbird  had  written, 
and  so  had  Spud;  and  Dick  had  likewise  a  long 
epistle  from  Bart  Conners,  who  in  years  gone  by 
had  been  the  young  major  of  the  Putnam  Hall 
cadets.  But  just  now  Dick  had  no  heart  to  read 
these  communications.  He  felt  that  he  must  give 
his  entire  attention  to  the  business  in  hand.  One 
letter  in  a  plain  envelope  was  in  a  handwriting 
entirely  unfamiliar  to  him.  He  cut  open  the  en 
velope  hastily  to  see  what  it  might  contain.  A 
glance  at  the  single  sheet  inside,  and  his  face 
showed  his  interest. 

"  Look  at  this,  boys !  "  he  cried ;  and  then  read 
the  following: 

"'Look  over  your  safe  very  carefully.  You 
may  discover  something  to  your  advantage.' ' 

There  was  no  signature. 

"Who  sent  that?"  came  from  Sam  and  Tom 
simultaneously. 

"  I  don't  know.    It  isn't  signed." 

" '  Look  over  your  safe  very  carefully.  You 
may  discover  something  to  your  advantage,'  "  re 
peated  Tom.  "Say!  that  looks  as  if  somebody 
knew  something  about  the  robbery ! "  he  went  on, 
excitedly. 

"We  have  looked  over  the  safe  a  dozen  times," 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SAFE  253 

returned  Sam.    "  It  hasn't  furnished  the  slightest 
clew." 

"  We'll  go  over  it  again,"  broke  in  Dick,  who 
had  already  left  his  desk  and  gone  to  the  strong 
box.  He  worked  at  the  combination  for  a  few; 
moments,  and  pulled  open  the  safe  door. 

"  Maybe  we  ought  to  have  a  light  here,"  sug-  ' 
gested  Tom.  "It  is  rather  dark  in  this  cor-  * 
ner." 

"  Wait,  I  can  fix  that,"  said  Sam,  and  reaching 
for  a  droplight  that  hung  over  the  desk,  the 
youngest  Rover  commenced  to  unfasten  the  wire 
by  which  it  was  held  in  position.  By  this  means 
he  was  able  to  shift  the  light  so  that  it  hung  di 
rectly  over  the  opening  of  the  strong-box. 

"  Nothing  unusual  about  the  door  or  the  com 
bination  that  I  can  see,"  said  Tom,  after  all  had 
made  a  careful  inspection. 

"And  the  sides  seem  to  be  all  right,"  added 
Sam.  "  Maybe  it's  the  back  or  the  bottom." 

"  If  it  wasn't  so  heavy  we  might  be  able  to 
swing  the  safe  around  away  from  the  wall,"  said 
Dick.     "But  wait,  hold  that  light  closer,  Tom,, 
and  I'll  see  if  I  can  find  out  anything  from  the' 
inside." 

Dick  was  now  on  his  knees  and  feeling  around 
the  back  of  the  safe  with  his  hand.  Presently  he 
found  a  crack,  and  inserting  his  fingers  he  gave 


254         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

a  push.    Much  to  his  astonishment  a  portion  of 
the^  safe  back  slid  upward. 

"Hello,  I've  found  something!"  he  ejaculated. 
"  There  is  a  hole  in  the  back  of  this  safe ! " 

"You  don't  say  so!"  cried  Sam;  and  he  and 
Tom  peered  into  the  steel  box. 

Then  Dick  continued  to  work  around  with  his 
hand,  and  presently  was  able  to  slide  another  sec 
tion  of  the  safe  back  upward.  He  now  found 
that  he  could  touch  a  piece  of  board  which  evi 
dently  took  the  place  of  some  plaster  that  had 
formed  part  of  the  office  wall. 

"  There  must  be  a  small  trap  door  there,  lead 
ing  to  some  place  outside,"  said  the  oldest  Rover 
boy.  "  We'll  go  into  the  hall  and  have  a  look." 

It  did  not  take  the  eager  youths  long  to  reach 
the  hallway  of  the  building,  and  once  there,  all 
three  hurried  to  the  spot  where  they  thought  the 
opening  might  be  located.  Soon  they  came  to  the 
little  closet  which  the  janitor  had  once  mentioned 
to  them — a  small  place  in  which  was  located  a 
sink,  and  also  a  number  of  brooms,  brushes,  and 
cleaning  cloths. 

The  closet  was  dark,  but  Dick  had  brought 
along  a  box  of  matches,  and  a  light  was  quickly 
made.  A  corner  containing  some  brooms  and 
cloths  was  cleaned  out,  and  the  boys  soon  lo 
cated  a  piece  of  board  about  eight  inches  square, 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SAFE  255 

covered  with  a  sheet  of  tin  painted  the  same  color 
as  the  wall. 

"  It's  as  plain  as  daylight ! "  cried  Tom.  "  The 
thief  didn't  have  to  open  the  safe  door  at  all.  He 
simply  came  in  here,  removed  that  board,  slid  up 
the  back  section  of  the  safe,  and  took  out  what 
he  wanted." 

"And  the  fellow  who  did  it "  broke  in 

Sam. 

"  Was  either  Pelter  or  Japson,"  finished  Dick. 

"Then  you  think  this  letter  came  from " 

Tom  started  to  say. 

"That  young  fellow  whose  life  you  saved — 
Barton  Pelter,"  answered  Dick. 

"  By  the  rudder  to  Noah's  Ark,  I  think  you  are 
right ! "  burst  out  Tom.  "  Why,  it's  as  plain  as 
the  nose  on  your  face !  Don't  you  remember  how 
worried  Barton  Pelter  looked  when  we  told  him 
the  bonds  were  missing,  and  how  he  asked  us  at 
the  moving  picture  show  if  we  had  gotten  them 
back  yet?  More  than  likely  he  knew  how  this 
safe  was  fixed — he  used  to  come  here,  you  know, 
to  see  his  uncle " 

"  I  believe  you're  right,  Tom,"  came  from  Sam, 
"because  if  he  didn't  do  it,  who  did?  " 

"  I  think  I  can  make  sure  of  this,"  returned 
Tom.  "  Let  us  go  back  to  the  offices." 

Tom  had  taken  possession  of  one  of  the  desks 


256         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

in  the  place,  and  in  one  of  the  pigeonholes  he  had 
placed  a  number  of  letters,  including  the  one  re 
ceived  while  at  college  from  Jesse  Pelter's 
nephew.  This  he  now  brought  forth,  and  com 
pared  the  handwriting  with  that  of  the  letter  just 
received. 

"  It's  the  same  hand,"  he  affirmed.  And  after 
&n  examination  the  brothers  agreed  with  him. 

"If  Barton  Pelter  wrote  that  letter  we  ought 
to  locate  him  without  delay,"  was  Sam's  com 
ment.  "  He  may  know  just  where  the  missing 
bonds  are." 

"  Or  else  where  we  can  locate  his  uncle  and 
Japson." 

"  Wait  a  minute !  "  cried  Dick.  "  You  forget 
that  Japson  has  been  away  from  New  York  for 
some  time.  The  detective  told  me  that,  and  said 
it  was  positive.  So  that  would  seem  to  put  the 
thing  off  on  Pelter's  shoulders;  and  I  think  Pel 
ter  is  just  the  man  to  do  such  a  thing.  You'll 
remember  how  bitter  he  was  against  us  when  we 
exposed  him." 

"Then  let  us  locate  Jesse  Pelter  without  de 
lay,"  broke  in  Tom.  "  It  ought  to  be  easy,  unless 
he  is  in  hiding." 

"If  he's  got  our  bonds  he'll  certainly  do  his 
best  to  keep  out  of  our  way,"  returned  Dick, 
grimly.  "  I  think  the  best  we  can  do  first  of  all 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  SAFE  257 

is  to  locate  Barton  Pelter  and  make  him  tell  us 
all  he  knows." 

"  He  said  he  had  a  chance  of  a  position  as  a 
traveling  salesman." 

"Did  he  say  for  whom?" 

"  He  mentioned  '  The  Consolidated  Create 
Cracker  Company,'  whatever  that  is." 

"  Let  us  call  them  up  and  find  out,"  said  Dick 

By  consulting  the  telephone  directory,  the  boys 
were  soon  in  communication  with  the  cracker 
company  in  question.  They  were  informed  that 
Barton  Pelter  had  been  taken  on  as  a  salesman 
the  day  before,  and  had  left  that  evening  for  a 
trip  through  the  Middle  West.  It  was  not  known 
on  what  train  he  had  departed. 

"Nothing  doing  here,"  said  Tom.  "They 
don't  even  seem  to  know  what  town  he  is  going 
to  stop  at  first." 

"I  think  we  had  better  call  up  Mr.  Bronson, 
and  tell  him  about  this  and  put  him  on  the  trail 
of  the  Pelters,"  answered  Dick. 

The  detective  was  as  astonished  as  the  boys  had 
been  when  he  saw  the  hole  in  the  back  of  the 
safe. 

"This  is  certainly  one  on  me,"  he  confessed, 
frankly.  "I  looked  that  safe  over  very  care 
fully,  too.  I  should  have  discovered  that;"  and 
his  face  showed  his  chagrin. 


258         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

Then  he  was  told  about  the  Pelters  and  about 
Japson,  and  he  agreed  with  the  Rovers  that  he 
had  best  try  to  locate  Barton  Pelter  and  his  uncle 
(without  delay. 

"  I'll  put  a  man  on  the  trail  of  the  young  fel- 

:low  who  went  West,"  he  said,  "and  as  soon  as 

he  sends  me  any  word  regarding  Jesse  Pelter  I'll 

go  after  that  fellow,  and  I'll  also  let  you  know; 

what  I'm  doing;"  and  so  it  was  arranged. 


JOSIAH   CRABTREE  ONCE  MORE 

WHEN  the  boys  arrived  at  the  hotel  that  even 
ing  the  girls  had  much  to  tell  them.  Nellie  had 
received  a  letter  from  Miss  Harrow,  in  which  the 
teacher  had  frankly  begged  her  pardon  for  hav 
ing  suspected  the  girl  of  taking  the  diamond  ring. 

"  It  is  a  lovely  letter,"  said  Nellie.  "  I  never 
thought  that  she  could  humble  herself  in  that 
fashion." 

"  I've  got  an  idea ;  in  fact,  I've  had  it  for  some 
time,"  came  from  Tom.  "  I  had  Royce  in  this 
afternoon  to  see  me.  He  is  very  anxious  to  get 
work.  I've  half  a  notion  to  ask  you  to  write  to 
Miss  Harrow  and  see  if  they  won't  take  the  fel 
low  back  at  the  seminary." 

"  I  am  willing  to  write  such  a  letter,  Tom,"  an 
swered  the  girl.  "  And  if  they  won't  take  Royce 
back,  perhaps  I  can  get  my  father  to  give  him 
work  at  our  farm;  although  I  know  he  is  more 
of  a  gardener  than  he  is  a  farmer." 

But  the  most  important  news  the  two  girls  and 
259 


26o         THE  ROVER   BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

Dick's  wife  had  to  tell  was  that  on  a  shopping 
tour  after  lunch  they  had  walked  into  Josiah 
Crabtree. 

"  We  came  face  to  face  with  him  in  front  of 
a  show  window,"  explained  Dick's  wife.  "  I  was 
so  startled  for  the  minute  that  I  did  not  know 
what  to  say.  Oh,  Dick !  he  was  on  crutches,  and 
he  did  look  so  pale  and  thin  I  couldn't  help  but 
feel  sorry  for  him !  " 

"  He  has  evidently  suffered  a  great  deal,"  put 
in  Grace.  "  In  fact,  he  said  as  much.  He  seemed 
to  be  utterly  downcast.  He  didn't  look  like  the 
dictatorial  teacher  he  used  to  be  at  all." 

"  What  did  he  have  to  say  ?  "  questioned  Sam. 

"  Oh,  he  was  quite  confused  at  first,  but  he  did 
ask  about  Dora's  mother — if  she  was  well — and 
then  he  said  he  understood  that  you  three  were 
going  into  business  together.  He  said  he  hoped 
you  would  be  successful." 

"  The  idea  of  old  Crabtree  saying  that! "  burst 
out  Tom.  "  It's  enough  to  make  a  fellow  think 
the  end  of  the  world  is  coming." 

"Did  he  say  what  he  was  doing,  or  what  he 
proposes  to  do?"  questioned  Dick. 

"  He  said  he  had  received  a  tentative  offer  of 
a  position  in  a  boys'  school  in  Maine,"  answered1 
Nellie,  "but  he  did  riot  know  whether  he  was' 
going  to  take  it  or  not.  My  idea  is  that  he  is  too 


JOSIAH  CRABTREE  ONCE  MORE  261 

poor  to  even  go  to  Maine.  And  he  had  on  such 
an  old,  rusty,  black  suit ! " 

"Say!  Did  he  say  where  he  was  stopping?" 
questioned  Dick,  eagerly,  struck  by  a  sudden  idea. 

"  No,  he  did  not." 

"  Too  bad !  I'd  like  to  see  him  as  soon  as  pos 
sible." 

"Why,  what's  up  now,  Dick?"  questioned 
Sam. 

"  I  want  to  ask  him  if  he  knows  anything  about 
Jesse  Pelter — where  the  fellow  has  gone  to." 

"  It  isn't  likely.  I  don't  think  those  two  parted 
the  best  of  friends." 

"  Most  likely  not.  Still  Crabtree  may  know 
where  Pelter  keeps  himself." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  you  might  do,  Dick,"  sug 
gested  Tom.  "  You  might  send  Crabtree  a  couple 
of  letters,  one  addressed  to  the  General  Delivery 
here,  and  another  simply  addressed  to  New  York 
City;  then  you'll  run  two  chances  of  striking 
him." 

"  I'll  do  that,"  answered  the  older  brother;  and 
sent  off  the  communications  without  delay.  In 
each  of  them  he  asked  Josiah  Crabtree  to  call  at 
his  offices  as  soon  as  possible. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  make  him  open  up  if 
fie  comes?"  questioned  Sam. 

"I  think  so — that  is  if  I  make  it  worth  his 


262         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

while.     If  Crabtree  is  down  on  his  luck  he  will 
most  likely  be  willing  to  do  anything  for  money." 

Two  days  went  by,  and  the  boys  waited  anx 
iously  for  some  word  from  the  detective  in  re 
gard  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  Pelters.  But  no 
word  came  in,  and  they  were  as  downcast  as  ever. 
In  the  meanwhile  Dick,  aided  by  the  others, 
stirred  around  as  best  he  could  in  an  endeavor  to 
take  care  of  their  finances. 

"  I've  got  the  small  things  all  taken  care  of," 
Dick  said  to  Tom  and  Sam,  on  the  evening  of  the 
second  day.  "  But  what  I  am  going  to  do  about 
that  twenty  thousand  dollars  we  must  pay  the 
Sharon  Valley  Land  Company,  and  that  other 
claim  Mr.  Powell  spoke  about,  I  don't  know.  It 
looks  to  me  as  if  we  were  going  to  get  into  a 
hole,  unless  I'm  able  to  get  some  of  our  friends 
to  help  us  out." 

The  one  bright  spot  on  the  horizon  was  the 
news  received  from  home,  which  was  to  the  effect 
that  their  father's  health  was  improving.  He  had 
gone  downstairs  and  walked  around  the  garden, 
and  also  taken  a  short  ride  in  the  automobile. 
Moreover,  his  mind  seemed  to  be  much  brighter, 
than  it  had  been  for  a  long  while  past. 

On  the  following  morning,  when  the  three 
youths  were  at  the  offices  discussing  the  situa 
tion,  Bob  Marsh  came  in. 


JOSIAH  CRABTREE  ONCE  MORE          263 

"  A  man  to  see  you,"  announced  the  office  boy. 
"  A  man  on  crutches  named  Crabtree." 

"  Show  him  in !  "  exclaimed  Dick.  And  then 
he  added  hastily  to  his  brothers  in  a  lower  tone: 
"  Now  let  me  engineer  this,  please.  I  think  I 
know  how  to  handle  him." 

"  Go  ahead,  Dick,"  responded  Tom;  and  Sam 
nodded. 

Josiah  Crabtree  hobbled  in  on  his  crutches,  with 
his  hat  in  his  hand.  Evidently  he  was  weak  and 
nervous.  His  thin  face  had  lost  much  of  its  for 
mer  shrewdness  and  cunning,  and  he  looked  quite 
downcast. 

"  Good  morning,  young  gentlemen,"  he  said,  in 
a  somewhat  cracked  voice.  "  You  sent  me  a  let 
ter.  I  just  got  it  at  the  post-office." 

"  Sit  down,  Mr.  Crabtree,"  returned  Dick,  and 
offered  the  former  teacher  of  Putnam  Hall  a 
chair. 

"  Thank  you."  Josiah  Crabtree  sank  down  on 
the  seat,  resting  his  crutches  against  his  knee. 
"  You  have  the  same  offices  that  Pelter,  Japson 
&  Company  had,  I  perceive,"  he  continued,  allow 
ing  his  eyes  to  rove  around. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Crabtree,"  answered  Dick.  "By 
the  way,  do  you  know  where  Mr.  Pelter  is  just 
now?" 

"You  said  you  wanted  to  see  me  about  some 


264         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

particular  business,"    said   the   former   teacher. 
"  Perhaps  we  had  better  get  at  that  first" 

"Well,  I  might  as  well  admit,  Mr.  Crabtree, 

that  what  I  wanted  to  see  you  about  is  this.     I 

* 

want  to  know  if  you  can  tell  me  where  Mr.  Jesse 
Pelter  is  just  now." 

"  Oh,  is  that  all ! "  And  Josiah  Crabtree's  face 
showed  his  disappointment. 

"  That  is  all  at  present" 

"  Humph !  Supposing  I  don't  care  to  tell  you 
where  he  is?" 

"  Now  see  here ! "  pursued  Dick,  earnestly. 
"If  I  understand  matters  aright,  Mr.  Crabtree, 
Jesse  Pelter  is  no  longer  a  friend  of  yours.  When 
you  went  to  the  hospital  he  practically  deserted 
you,  isn't  that  right  ?  " 

"  It  is !  "  exclaimed  the  former  teacher,  bitterly. 
"  He  left  me  in  the  lurch,  and  not  only  that,  he 
didn't  give  me  the  money  that  was  rightfully  com 
ing  to  me." 

"  Exactly  so !  Now  then,  why  shouldn't  you 
help  us  to  locate  him?  " 

"Well — er — well — er — supposing  I   did   helpj 
you?"  returned  Josiah  Crabtree,  hesitatingly. 

"  If  you  will  do  that,  Mr.  Crabtree,  I'll  make  it 
well  worth  your  while,"  responded  Dick,  quickly. 
"  I  may  as  well  admit  to  you  that  we  wish  to  get 
hold  of  Mr.  Pelter  as  soon  as  possible.  We  want 


JOSIAH  CRABTREE  ONCE  MORE          265 

him  to  clear  up  a  certain  transaction.  If  you  can 
put  me  into  communication  with  him  to-day,  I'll 
give  you  fifty  dollars." 

At  the  mention  of  fifty  dollars  Josiah  Crab- 
tree's,  eyes  lit  up.  Evidently  he  had  not  seen  that 
amount  of  money  for  some  time. 

"  You'll  give  me  fifty  dollars  ?  "  he  repeated. 

"I  will." 

"There  is  no  fooling  about  this,  Rover?" 

"  Mr.  Crabtree,  did  I  ever  deceive  you?  "  And 
Dick  looked  the  former  teacher  squarely  in  the 
eyes. 

"  I  don't  think  you  did,  Rover.  So  you  want 
to  find  Jesse  Pelter,  and  you'll  give  me  fifty  dol 
lars  if  I'll  help  you  do  it?  All  right,  I'll  take 
you  up.  I  don't  think  Pelter  is  aware  that  I  know 
where  he  is,  but  I  do ;"  and  Josiah  Crabtree  smiled 
grimly. 

"Where  is  he?" 

"  He  told  Japson  that  he  was  going  down  East, 
most  likely  to  Boston.  But  he  didn't  do  any  such 
thing;  he  hung  around  New  York  for  awhile  and 
then  he  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  he's  down  there 
now,  I  am  thinking,  unless  he  took  a  boat  for 
Europe." 

"What?  Was  he  going  from  Philadelphia  to 
'Europe  ?  "  broke  in  Tom. 

"  So  I  understood.    Although  why  he  didn't  go 


266         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

from  New  York  is  a  mystery — the  service  is  so 
much  better." 

"  Have  you  any  idea  where  he  is  stopping  in 
Philadelphia  ?  "  questioned  Dick.  , 

"  He  usually  stopped  with  a  distant  relative  of, 
his — a  man  named  Crowley  Pelter." 

"  Then  that's  all  I  want  to  know  for  the  pres 
ent,  Mr.  Crabtree,"  announced  Dick.  "If  we 
can  locate  him  I'll  let  you  know  and  then  the  fifty 
dollars  will  be  yours." 

"  How  soon  are  you  going  to  look  for  the 
man  ?  "  asked  the  former  teacher,  curiously. 

"  At  once,"  was  Dick's  quick  reply.  "  Leave 
me  your  address,  and  as  soon  as  we  hear  anything 
I'll  let  you  know."  And  a  few  minutes  later  the 
boys  brought  the  interview  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

THE  JAPANNED  BOX 

"  Now  to  find  out  where  Crowley  Pelter  lives ! " 
said  Dick. 

The  train  carrying  the  three  Rover  boys  from 
New  York  to  Philadelphia  was  rolling  into  the 
big,  smoky  station.  It  was  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  the  youths  had  dined  on  the 
train  while  making  the  journey.  They  had  left 
the  offices  in  charge  of  Bob  Marsh,  stating  that 
they  would  most  likely  be  away  for  the  rest  of 
the  day.  At  first  Dick  and  Tom  had  thought  to 
leave  Sam  behind,  but  the  latter  had  insisted  on 
going  along.  It  had  been  a  two  hours'  run  to  the 
Quaker  City. 

"  Let's  look  at  a  telephone  directory,"  suggest 
ed  Tom. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  want  to  telephone  to  him,  do 
you?"  queried  Sam.  "That  might  put  Jesse 
Pelter  on  his  guard." 

"  We  won't  telephone,  we'll  simply  look  for  the 
address,"  answered  his  brother. 
267 


268         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

But  there  proved  to  be  no  Crowley  Pelter  in 
the  telephone  directory,  so  the  boys  had  to  consult 
a  regular  directory.  They  found  that  the  man 
lived  quite  a  distance  out,  in  the  Germantown 
section. 

"  Let's  hire  a  taxi,  and  get  out  there  as  fast  as 
we  can,"  suggested  Dick.  Now  that  they  were 
actually  on  the  trail  of  the  missing  broker  he  was 
anxious  to  bring  the  pursuit  to  an  end. 

Outside  the  railroad  station  taxicabs  were  nu 
merous,  and  the  boys  quickly  hired  one  of  the 
best  of  the  machines  and  gave  the  driver  direc 
tions  where  to  go. 

"  And  don't  lose  any  time,"  ordered  Dick. 

"  I'll  run  as  fast  as  I  dare,"  returned  the  chauf 
feur. 

The  ride  to  Crowley  Pelter's  residence  took  a 
good  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  The  place  was  a 
small  but  well-kept  one  on  a  corner. 

"  I  guess  I  had  better  go  in  alone,"  suggested 
Dick.  "  If  I  need  you  I'll  whistle  or  wave  my 
handkerchief;"  and  then  he  ran  up  the  front 
steps  and  rang  the  bell.  A  tall,  angular  woman, 
wearing  large  spectacles,  soon  answered  his  sum 
mons. 

"Good  afternoon,"  said  Dick,  politely.  "Is 
this  Mr.  Crowley  Belter's  residence?" 

"Yes,  sir." 


THE  JAPANNED   BOX  269 

"  I  believe  Mr.  Jesse  Pelter  is  staying  here. 
Can  I  see  him?  "  went  on  Dick. 

"  Mr.  Jesse  Pelter  was  staying  here,  but  he  has 
just  gone — he  went  about  an  hour  ago."  , 

"  Is  that  so !  "  cried  Dick.     "  Can  you  tell  me  , 
where  he  went  to  ?  " 

"Well,  I— er— I  don't  know,"  faltered  the 
woman,  and  eyed  Dick  sharply. 

"  I  have  a  very  important  message  for  him," 
Dick  hastened  to  say.  "  I  must  see  him  at  once." 

"  Oh,  in  that  case  you'll  find  him  down  at  the 
docks.  He  has  engaged  passage  on  the  Princess 
Lenida  bound  for  Liverpool." 

"  And  when  does  the  Princess  Lenida  sail  ?  " 
asked  Dick,  quickly. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly.  Either  this  afternoon 
or  to-morrow  morning." 

"And  you  are  sure  He  has  gone  to  the 
steamer?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  He  sent  his  baggage  off  this  morn 
ing,  and  he  said  tie  would  not  be  back." 

"  Thank  you,  Madam."  And  without  another 
word  Dick  turned  and  left  the  residence. 

As  he  did  this  he  saw  a  man  he  knew  hurrying 
along  the  street.  The  man  stopped  when  he 
caught  sight  of  Dick  and  the  two  boys  in  the 
taxi  cab. 

"Why,  you  here,  Mr.  Bronson?"  cried  Dick. 


2/0         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

"  Hello !  how  in  the  world  did  you  fellows  get 
here ! "  exclaimed  the  detective  the  Rovers  had 
hired  but  a  short  time  before.  "  Are  you  on  the 
trail  of  Pelter,  too  ?  " 

"We  are,"  answered  Dick.  "How  did  you 
learn  he  had  been  here?  " 

"  Had  been !    Do  you  mean  to  say  he  has  left  ?  " 

"  Yes.  The  woman  who  came  to  the  door  told 
me  he  had  left  about  an  hour  ago.  He  is  going 
to  sail  on  the  Princess  Lenida  for  Liverpool 
either  this  afternoon  or  to-morrow  morning." 

"  Say,  then  we  want  to  get  after  him  at  once ! " 
cried  the  detective. 

"  I  agree  on  that,"  answered  Dick.  He  turned 
to  the  chauffeur.  "  Do  you  know  the  dock  from 
which  the  Princess  Lenida  sails  ?  "  he  questioned. 

"  Sure  I  do !  I've  been  there  many  a  time," 
answered  the  taxicab  driver. 

"  Then  take  us  there  just  as  quickly  as  you 
can,"  said  Dick.  "  Never  mind  the  speed  laws. 
If  you  are  held  up  we  will  pay  the  fine." 

"We  won't  be  held  up — not  if  I  show  this," 
said  the  detective,  and  exhibited  the  badge  pinned 
to  his  vest.  Then  Dick  and  Mr.  Bronson  jumped 
into  the  taxicab,  and  away  the  turnout  went  at 
top  speed  back  to  the  heart  of  the  city. 

"  How  did  you  get  here?  "  questioned  Tom,  of 
the  detective  while  riding  along. 


THE  JAPANNED   BOX  271 

"  As  I  said  I  would,  I  got  into  communication 
with  one  of  our  men  out  West,  and  he  went  after 
that  Barton  Pelter.  He  got  him  in  Dayton,  and 
made  him  confess  that  he  had  sent  that  note  to 
you.  Then  he  told  our  man  that  his  uncle  was .' 
most  likely  here  in  Philadelphia;  so  I  came  on 
at  once  to  see  if  I  could  locate  the  man." 

"If  only  we  can  catch  him  before  he  sails!" 
cried  Sam, 

"  Oh,  we've  got  to  do  it ! "  put  in  Tom. 
Soon  the  taxkab  reached  the  crowded  thor 
oughfares  of  Philadelphia.     They  made  several 
turns,  crossing  the  track  of  the  street  cars,  and 
finally  came  to  a  halt  near  the  river  front. 

"There's  the  dock  you  want,"  said  the  chauf 
feur,  pointing  with  his  hand. 

"Is  that  the  Princess  Lenidaf"  questioned 
Dick,  quickly,  indicating  the  upper  works  of  a 
steamer,  which  could  be  seen  over  the  dock  build 
ings. 

"  I  think  so,  sir." 

"  Come  on,  then ! "  cried  Tom.  "  Sam,  you  pay 
the  fellow,  will  you  ?  " 

"  All  right !  "  was  the  quick  reply.  And  then 
Tom  and  Dick  hurried  after  Mr.  Bronson,  who 
was  already  entering  the  dock  building. 

Had  they  been  alone  the  Rovers  might  have 
had  some  difficulty  in  gaining  entrance  to  the 


272         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

dock;  but  the  detective  led  the  way,  showing  his 
badge;  and  soon  the  party  found  themselves  at 
the  gang-plank  of  the  steamer.  Here  Sam  re 
joined  them. 

From  the  purser  they  learned  that  Jesse  Pelter 
had  engaged  stateroom  Number  148. 

"But  I  can't  say  if  he  is  aboard  or  not,"  said 
the  steamer  official.  "  You  see,  we  are  not  to  sail 
until  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning.  There 
was  some  talk  of  sailing  this  afternoon,  but  we 
have  been  delayed.  Do  you  want  me  to  send  to 
the  stateroom  for  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  we'll  go  there  ourselves,"  returned 
the  detective,  quickly.  "  I  don't  want  to  alarm 
him  if  I  can  help  it." 

"  I  guess  you  are  after  him,"  said  the  purser, 
grimly. 

"  We  certainly  are !  "  answered  Tom. 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  locate  stateroom  Num 
ber  148,  which  was  on  the  main  deck  forward. 
The  entrance  was  in  a  narrow  passageway,  and 
close  at  hand  was  a  door  opening  on  a  narrow 
walkway  between  the  staterooms  and  the  ship's 
rail. 

"Wait  a  moment,"  whispered  the  detective, 
and  stepped  outside.  He  was  now  close  to  a  shut 
tered  window  of  the  stateroom  engaged  by  Jesse 
Pelter. 


THE  JAPANNED   BOX  273 

From  the  room  came  a  murmur  of  voices,  and 
without  speaking  further  the  detective  motioned 
for  the  Rover  boys  to  join  him  beside  the  win 
dow.  Although  the  slatted  shutter  was  up,  evi 
dently  the  glass  of  the  window  had  been  let  down 
its  full  length,  for  those  outside  could  hear  what 
was  said  within  with  ease. 

"  That  proposition  is  all  right  as  far  as  it  goes/* 
they  heard,  in  Jesse  Pelter's  voice.  "  But  I  can't 
see,  Haywood,  where  you  ought  to  have  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  returns." 

"I  do !  "  answered  somebody  else — evidently 
the  man  called  Haywood.  "  I'm  running  all  the 
risk,  it  seems  to  me." 

"  Not  so  very  much  of  a  risk,"  went  on  Jesse 
Pelter.  "  Sixty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  those 
bonds  are  unregistered." 

"All  very  true.  But  for  all  you  know  the 
numbers  may  be  advertised  as  stolen.  If  so,  I 
may  get  pinched  when  I  offer  them." 

"Not  if  you  are  careful  and  work  the  thing  in 
the  right  kind  of  a  way,"  pursued  the  former 
broker. 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  returned 
Haywood.  "  I'll  take  a  third  and  not  a  dollar 
less.  Now  let  us  go  over  the  bonds  and  check 
them  up,"  he  continued.  And  then  followed  a 
rustling  of  numerous  papers. 


274         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"Don't  you  think  we  have  heard  enough?" 
whispered  Dick,  to  the  detective. 

"All  that  is  necessary,  Mr.  Rover,"  was  the 
answer.  "  Stand  close  by  me,"  the  detective  con 
tinued,  "  and  be  prepared  to  rush  them  the  instant 
the  door  is  opened." 

Having  thus  spoken,  Mr.  Bronson  stepped  back 
through  the  passageway,  and  knocked  sharply  on 
the  stateroom  door. 

"Who's  there?"  came  in  nervous  tones  from 
Jesse  Pelter. 

"A  telegram  for  Mr.  Pelter!"  cried  the  de 
tective,  in  a  high-pitched,  boyish  voice. 

"  Oh ! "  came  from  within ;  and  then  the  key 
was  turned  in  the  lock,  and  the  door  was  opened 
several  inches. 

The  next  instant  the  detective  threw  his  weight 
against  the  barrier,  and  forced  it  back.  He 
leaped  into  the  stateroom,  and  the  three  Rover 
boys  followed  him. 

"Hi,  what  does  this  mean?"  cried  Jesse  Pel 
ter,  as  he  was  forced  backward  against  a  wash- 
stand. 

"  It  means  that  your  game  is  up,  Pelter ! "  cried 
Tom. 

"  We've  caught  you  just  as  we  wanted  to ! " 
added  Dick. 

"And  you're  not  going  to  get  away  either," 


THE  JAPANNED   BOX  275 

came  from  Sam,  as  he  managed  to  close  the  state 
room  door  and  put  his  back  against  it. 

Mr.  Bronson  had  said  nothing.  He  held  the 
former  broker  with  one  hand,  and  produced  a 
pair  of  handcuffs  with  the  other.  Then  came  a 
double  click,  and  Jesse  Pelter  found  himself  hand 
cuffed. 

"  See  here,  you  let  me  out  of  this ! "  stormed 
the  man  named  Haywood.  "  I  haven't  done  any 
thing  wrong.  You  let  me  go ! "  And  he  started 
for  the  door. 

"  Not  much !  You  stay  where  you  are ! "  cried 
Tom,  and  gave  the  fellow  a  shove  which  sent 
him  sprawling  backward  over  a  berth. 

In  the  meanwhile  Dick's  quick  eyes  had  located 
the  japanned  box  partly  filled  with  the  missing 
bonds.  Other  bonds  lay  on  the  berth  and  on  the 
floor.  The  oldest  Rover  boy  lost  no  time  in 
gathering  up  the  precious  documents,  and  placed 
them  in  the  box. 

"  I  tell  you  I  want  you  to  let  me  go ! "  splut 
tered  Haywood.  "I  haven't  done  anything 
wrong ! " 

"  See  here,  Grimes,"  broke  in  the  detective, 
sternly,  "you  sit  right  where  you  are.  I  know 
you,  and  you  ought  to  know  me;"  and  the  de 
tective  took  a  step  forward  and  looked  the  man 
full  in  the  face. 


276         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Oliver  Bronson ! "  murmured  the  man  who 
had  agreed  to  dispose  of  the  stolen  bonds.  "  How 
did  you  get  onto  this  game?" 

"  You'll  find  out  about  that  later,  Grimes." 

"  Is  his  name  Grimes  ?  "  questioned  Tom. 

"  That's  one  of  his  names.  He  is  also  known 
as  Haywood,  and  likewise  Slippery  Peter.  He 
used  to  work  in  Pittsburgh  and  Washington ;  but 
I  heard  some  time  ago  that  he  was  trying  his 
games  on  in  Philadelphia." 

"  See  here,  Rover,  can't  we — er — fix  this  little 
matter  up  somehow?"  faltered  Jesse  Pelter. 

"We  can,  and  we  will — in  court,"  answered 
Dick,  coldly. 

"  Oh,  but  see  here " 

"  Don't  waste  your  breath,  Pelter.  We  let  you 
go  on  those  other  charges,  but  we  are  not  going 
to  let  you  go  on  this  one,"  interrupted  Dick. 
"  This  was  a  downright  steal,  and  you  have  got 
to  take  the  consequences.  Mr.  Bronson,  what  do 
you  want  to  do  with  them?  " 

"  One  of  you  had  better  call  in  a  policeman," 
returned  the  detective.  "Then  we'll  take  them 
to  headquarters.  I  think  this  is  quite  a  catch," 
he  continued.  "  The  authorities  have  been  trying 
to  fasten  something  on  Grimes  for  a  long  while." 

"Humph!  You  haven't  fastened  this  on  me 
yet,"  growled  the  sharper  mentioned. 


THE  JAPANNED   BOX 


277 


"Don't  worry.  You'll  get  what's  coming  to 
you,"  returned  the  detective. 

Sam  slipped  out,  and  in  a  few  minutes  re 
turned  with  a  policeman.  Then  a  call  was  sent  in 
for  a  patrol  wagon,  and  in  this  the  entire  party 
was  taken  to  the  police  station.  A  formal  charge 
was  entered  against  the  two  criminals,  and  they 
were  led  away  to  separate  cells.  Then  came  sev 
eral  formalities  before  Dick  and  his  brothers  were 
allowed  to  take  possession  of  the  japanned  box 
with  its  precious  contents.  The  bonds  were  gone 
over  with  care,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  not 
one  was  missing. 

"  Oh,  this  is  great ! "  cried  Tom,  his  face  beam 
ing.  "  I  feel  like  dancing  a  jig." 

"  So  do  I,"  returned  Sam.  "  Dick,  don't  you 
think  we  had  better  send  word  to  New  York?" 

"  Oh,  we'll  take  the  next  train  back,  Sam,  and 
surprise  the  girls,"  answered  the  oldest  brother. 

"  I'll  remain  behind  in  Philadelphia,  and  take 
charge  of  this  case,"  said  Mr.  Bronson.  "Now 
that  you  have  your  bonds  back,  I  suppose  you'll 
want  to  fix  up  some  of  those  financial  matters 
that  you  mentioned." 

"We  certainly  do,"  answered  Diet. 

And  after  a  few  words  more,  the  boys  bade 
the  detective  good-bye,  and  hurried  to  take  a 
train  back  to  the  metropolis. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


"  AND  you  got  back  all  the  bonds,  Dick?  How 
splendid ! " 

It  was  Dora  who  uttered  the  words,  shortly 
after  the  arrival  at  the  Outlook  Hotel  of  the  three 
Rovers.  Dick  had  had  the  japanned  box  under 
his  arm,  and  now  held  it  up  in  triumph. 

"  Yes,  we've  got  them  all  back,  and  those  that 
don't  go  to  the  bank  as  collateral  security  for  a 
loan  are  going  to  a  safe  deposit  box,"  answered 
Dick.  "  I  won't  take  any  more  chances  with  an 
office  safe." 

"  Especially  not  that  office  safe,"  put  in  Sam, 
pointedly. 

"  And  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  Jesse 
Pelter?"  questioned  Nellie. 

"  We  are  going  to  put  him  where  he  belongs — 
in  prison,"  answered  Tom.  And  it  may  be  as 
well  to  state  here  that  in  due  course  of  time  Jesse 
Pelter  and  his  partner  in  crime,  Grimes,  alias 
Haywood,  were  tried  and  sentenced  to  long  terms 
278 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER-CONCLUSION        279 

in  prison.  At  this  trial  it  was  brought  to  light 
that  Barton  Pelter  had  known  about  the  hole  in 
the  back  of  the  safe,  but  had  had  absolutely  noth 
ing  to  do  with  the  taking  of  the  bonds.  Jesse 
Pelter  was  very  bitter  against  his  nephew  for  ex 
posing  him,  but  the  Rovers  told  the  young  man 
that  he  had  done  exactly  right,  and  he  said  that 
he  thought  so,  too.  As  soon  as  the  trial  was  over 
Barton  Pelter  returned  to  the  Middle  West, 
where  he  did  fairly  well  as  a  traveling  salesman 
for  the  cracker  company. 

The  next  few  days  following  the  recovery  of 
the  bonds  proved  busy  ones  for  the  Rovers. 
Some  of  the  bonds  were  put  up  at  a  bank  as  col 
lateral  security  for  a  substantial  loan,  and  with 
this  money  Dick  took  care  of  the  Sharon  Valley 
Land  Company  investment,  and  also  the  invest 
ment  brought  to  his  attention  by  Mr.  Powell. 

"  Now  we  are  on  the  straight  road  once  more !  " 
declared  Dick,  after  these  matters  and  a  number 
of  others  had  been  cleared  up. 

"  And  I'm  mighty  glad  of  it/'  returned  Tom, 
with  a  beaming  face.  "  I  think  we  all  ought  to  go 
off  and  celebrate.  What's  the  matter  with  a  trip 
to  Coney  Island,  or  something  like  that?  " 

"  Wow !  I  thought  he  was  going  to  suggest  a 
honeymoon  trip  for  himself  and  Nellie,"  cried 
Sam,  mischievously. 


28o         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

"  Say,  young  man,  don't  get  so  previous ! "  re 
torted  Tom,  growing  red  in  the  face.  "  Just  tbe 
same,  that's  coming  a  little  later,"  he  added, 
quickly. 

"  Provided  Nellie  is  willing,"  went  on  the 
youngest  Rover,  teasingly. 

"  Oh,  don't  you  worry  about  that,  Sam.  By 
the  looks  of  things  you'll  be  in  the  same  boat 
some  day." 

"  Well,  a  fellow  might  do  worse,"  answered 
Sam,  coolly. 

The  days  to  follow  were  full  of  combined  busi 
ness  and  pleasure  for  the  boys.  When  they  were 
not  at  the  office  they  were  with  f.:e  girls,  and  all 
took  numerous  trips  to  various  places  of  amuse 
ment  in  and  out  of  the  metrr- olis.  As  was  to 
be  expected,  Tom  was  the  life  of  the  party,  and 
the  way  he  "cut  up"  was  "simply  awful,"  as 
Nellie  declared. 

"  Well,  I  can't  help  it,"  was  trie  way  the  fun- 
loving  Rover  explained  his  actions.  "  I've  got  to 
let  off  steam  or  'bust/"  rnd  then  I  3  did  a  few 
steps  of  a  jig,  finishing  by  catchir  ^  Nellie  tip  iri 
his  arms  and  whirling  her  around  in  the  air. 

Of  course  the  boys  had  lost  no  time  in  sending 
word  to  the  folks  at  Valley  Brook  Farm  that  all 
business  complications  had  been  straightened  out, 
and  that  everything  at  the  offices  was  running! 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER— CONCLUSION'          281 

smoothly.  In  return  came  back  word  that  Mr. 
Anderson  Rover  was  feeling  stronger  than  ever, 
and  hoped  ere  long  to  be  well  enough  to  visit  the 
pity. 

"But  I  don't  expect  to  do  much  in  business," 
wrote  Mr.  Rover.  "  I  am  going  to  leave  that  en 
tirely  to  Dick  and  Tom.  I  understand  that  Tom 
expects  before  a  great  while  to  get  married,  and 
when  that  happens  I  want  to  form  The  Rover 
Company,  and  take  him  and  Dick  in  with  me, 
Sam,  of  course,  to  come  in  later,  after  La  has 
fink'-.ed  r  t  collere,  although  he  won't  have  to  take 
an  active  r  r.rt  unless  he  wishes  to  do  so.  My  best 
love  to  all  of  you,  and  may  you  have  no  more 
trouble." 

"  Dear  old  dad ! "  murmured  Tom,  when  he 
had  perused  this  communication,  and  for  a  mo 
ment  his  voice  grc . v  husky  and  his  eyes  moist. 

Now  that  it  had  been  definitely  settled  thai 
Tom  and  ITellie  were  going  to  be  married,  Sam 
wanted  to  Lacy,?  if  the  date  couldn't  be  set  early 
enough  o  t^t  lie  could  be  c:i  hand  before  return 
ing  to  Brill.  This  bolstered  up  Tom's  plea  for  an 
early  ceremony,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  wed 
ding  sHould  come  off  the  first  week  in  September. 

Then  followed  great  preparations  on  the  part 


282         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

of  Nellie  and  the  others.  Mrs.  Laning  and  Mrs. 
Stanhope  came  down  to  New  York,  and  numer 
ous  shopping  tours  were  instituted,  in  which  the 
boys  had  no  part  Then  the  Lanings  and  Mrs. 
Stanhope  returned  to  Cedarville,  and  Tom  and 
Sam  went  back  to  the  farm. 

During  those  days,  as  busy  as  they  were,  Nellie 
and  Tom  had  not  forgotten  Andy  Royce.  Letters 
.had  been  exchanged  between  the  young  folks  and 
those  in  authority  at  Hope  Seminary,  and  at  last 
it  was  arranged  that  the  gardener  should  be  taken 
back  and  given  another  chance.  He  promised 
faithfully  to  give  up  drinking. 

The  Rover  boys  had  also  had  several  visits 
from  Josiah  Crabtree.  They  had  found  out  that 
the  former  teacher  of  Putnam  Hall  was  practi 
cally  down  and  out,  and,  although  he  was  not  de 
serving  of  their  sympathy,  all  felt  sorry  for  him, 
and  so  not  only  did  they  give  him  the  fifty  dollars 
as  Dick  had  promised,  but  they  also  presented  him 
with  a  new  outfit  of  clothing.  Then  Josiah  Crab- 
tree  departed,  to  accept  the  position  as  a  teacher 
which  had  been  offered  to  him. 

"Where  are  you  going  to  live  after  you  are 
married,  Tom?"  questioned  Sam.  "Are  you 
going  to  the  Outlook  Hotel,  too?" 

"Not  much,  no  hotel  life  for  me!"  returned 
Tom.  "Nellie  and  I  talked  it  over  with  Dora 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER— CONCLUSION.         -383 

and  Dick,  and  we  have  taken  an  apartment  to 
gether  on  Riverside  Drive,  a  pretty  spot  over 
looking  the  Hudson  River.  We  are  going  to  keep 
house  together,  and  we'll  all  be  '  as  snug  as  a  bug 
in  a  rug/ ' 

"Oh,  that  will  be  fine!" 

"  Some  day,  Sam,  I  suppose  we'll  be  taking  in 
you  and  Grace,"  went  on  Tom,  with  a  grin. 
"Well,  we'll  do  it  even  if  we  have  to  get  a 
larger  apartment." 

It  had  been  decided  that  the  wedding  should 
take  place  in  the  Cedarville  Union  Church — a 
little  stone  edifice  where  Dick  and  Dora  had  been 
married,  and  which  for  years  had  been  the  church 
home  of  the  Lanings  and  the  Stanhopes.  Nellie 
and  Tom  had  a  host  of  friends,  and  it  was  a 
question  how  so  many  could  be  accommodated  in 
such  a  small  building. 

"Well,  if  they  can't  get  in,  they'll  have  to 
stand  outside,"  said  Tom,  when  talking  the  mat 
ter  over.  "  We'll  do  the  best  we  can."  And  then 
the  invitations  to  the  affair  were  addressed  and 
sent  out 

As  was  to  be  expected,  the  wedding  presents 
were  both  numerous  and  costly,  rivalling  those 
received  by  Dora  and  Dick.  Mr.  Anderson 
Rover  duplicated  the  silver  service  given  to  his 
oldest  son,  and  Dick  and  Sam  joined  in  forward- 


284        THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

ing  a  handsomely  decorated  dinner  set  As  Uncle 
Randolph  and  Aunt  Martha  had  given  Dick  a  set 
of  encyclopaedias,  they  sent  other  books  to  Nellie, 
but  not  forgetting  a  specially-bound  volume  of 
the  uncle's  book  on  scientific  farming.  In  addi 
tion  to  all  this  came  a  bankbook  from  Mr.  An 
derson  Rover  with  an  amount  written  therein 
that  was  the  duplicate  of  the  amount  he  had  pre 
sented  to  Dora  and  Dick. 

"  I  knew  he'd  do  it,  Nellie,"  said  Tom,  when, 
with  their  heads  close  together,  the  pair  looked 
at  the  bankbook.  "  It's  just  like  dad." 

"  It's  too  perfectly  splendid  for  anything, 
Tom!"  returned  the  girl,  her  eyes  beaming. 
"When  I  get  the  chance  I'm  just  going  to  hug 
him  to  death ! " 

Nellie  and  Grace  had  always  been  Mrs.  Stan 
hope's  favorite  nieces,  and  now  that  lady  sent  a 
set  of  beautifully  embroidered  linen,  some  of 
which  had  been  in  the  Stanhope  family  for  sev 
eral  generations.  And  to  this  gift  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Laning  added  some  cut  glass  dishes  of  the  latest 
design.  Then  came  from  Captain  Putnam  of  the 
*  school  which  the  boys  had  attended  so  many 
years,  a  revolving  bookstand,  and  with  it  a  box 
of  books,  each  volume  from  some  particular 
youth  who  in  the  past  had  been  a  cadet  at  Putnam 
Hall — twenty- four  volumes  in  all,  each  with  a 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER— CONCLUSION          285 

name  in  it  that  brought  up  all  sorts  of  memories 
to  Tom  as  he  read  it. 

"  One  of  the  nicest  gifts  the  Old  Guard  could 
have  given  me ! "  was  Tom's  comment.  "  It  must 
have  been  some  job  to  get  that  set  of  books  to 
gether.  Why,  some  of  those  fellows  are  miles 
and  miles  away !  They  are  scattered  all  over  the 
United  States." 

Many  of  the  students  at  Hope  had  remembered 
Nellie,  and  even  Miss  Harrow  sent  her  a  small 
water-color  picture.  From  the  boys  of  Brill  came 
half  a  dozen  presents — some  useful  and  some 
ornamental.  Even  Tom's  former  enemy,  Dan 
Baxter,  who  was  now  his  friend,  had  not  for 
gotten  him,  and  sent  a  pair  of  napkin  rings,  suit 
ably  engraved.  Tom's  own  present  to  his  bride 
was  a  magnificent  diamond  brooch,  which  pleased 
Nellie  immensely. 

And  then  came  the  great  day,  full  of  sunshine 
and  with  a  gentle  breeze  blowing  from  the  West. 
Tom  and  his  family,  including  his  father,  who 
now  felt  almost  as  strong  as  ever,  were  located 
at  the  old  Stanhope  home  with  a  number  of  their 
friends,  while  many  of  Nellie's  relatives  and 
friends  were  stopping  with  the  Lanings  at  their 
farm.  Other  friends  of  both  the  young  folks 
were  located  at  the  Cedarville  Hotel. 

To  follow  the  time  set  by  Dick  and  Dora,  it 


286         THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

had  been  decided  to  hold  the  wedding  at  high' 
noon.  As  before,  the  church  was  decorated  with 
palms  brought  up  from  Ithaca.  Soon  the  guests 
began  to  assemble,  until  the  little  edifice  was 
crowded  to  its  capacity.  Captain  Putnam  was 
there  in  full  uniform,  and  with  him  over  a  score 
of  cadets.  From  Brill  came  at  least  a  dozen  col 
legians  led  by  Spud  and  Stanley.  Even  William 
Philander  Tubbs  was  on  hand,  in  a  full-dress  suit 
of  the  latest  pattern,  and  with  a  big  chrysanthe 
mum  in  his  buttonhole.  There  were  several 
bridesmaids  led  by  Grace,  while  Sam  was  Tom's 
best  man.  The  wedding  party  was  preceded  by 
a  little  flower  girl,  and  a  little  boy  beside  her  who 
carried  the  wedding  rings  on  a  pillow. 

Nellie  was  on  her  father's  arm,  daintily  attired 
in  white  charmeuse  with  her  tulle  veil  trimmed  in 
orange  blossoms,  and  her  girl  friends  declared 
that  she  was  the  prettiest  bride  they  had  ever  seen. 
The  ceremony  was  a  short  one,  and  at  the  con 
clusion  Tom  gave  his  bride  such  a  hearty  smack 
that  every  one  present  had  to  smile. 

"  A  fine  wedding,  don't  you  know !  "  was  Wil 
liam  Philander  Tubbs'  comment,  when  a  number 
of  the  guests  were  on  their  way  to  the  Laning 
home,  in  carriages  and  automobiles. 

"  Yes.  And  Tom  has  got  a  fine  girl ! "  an 
swered  Songbird, 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER-CONCLUSION         287 

"Where's  the  poetry  for  the  occasion,  Song 
bird?"  queried  Stanley. 

"  Oh,  I  am  reserving  that  for  the  wedding  din 
ner,"  was  the  answer.  And  it  may  be  mentioned 
here  that  at  the  proper  time  the  would-be  poet 
recited  an  original  poem  of  half  a  dozen  verses, 
•written  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

"  Say,  Dick,  we've  got  to  give  Tom  a  send- 
off,"  whispered  Sam  to  his  big  brother,  after  the 
Laning  home  had  been  reached. 

"  We  sure  will  give  him  a  send-off !  "  returned 
Dick,  who  had  not  forgotten  what  had  taken 
place  when  he  and  Dora  had  departed  on  their 
honeymoon. 

"  I  wish  I  didn't  have  to  go  back  to  Brill," 
went  on  the  youngest  Rover,  rather  wistfully, 
and  with  a  sigh. 

"Oh,  your  term  at  college  will  soon  come  to 
an  end,  Sam.  You  may  have  lots  of  fun." 
What  fun  Sam  did  have,  and  what  further  befell 
the  boys  will  be  related  in  the  next  volume  of  this 
series,  to  be  entitled  "The  Rover  Boys  on  a 
Tour;  Or,  Last  Days  at  Brill  College." 

The  wedding  dinner,  participated  in  by  all  the 
relatives  and  a  great  number  of  friends,  was  a 
huge  success.  An  orchestra  had  been  engaged 
for  the  occasion,  and  after  the  meal  there  was 
dancing  by  the  young  folks  for  several  hours, 


288         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

both  indoors  and  on  the  broad  veranda  of  the 
homestead. 

"  Where  are  you  going  on  your  wedding  tour, 
Tom?  "  asked  Spud. 

"We  haven't  decided  yet,"  was  the  quick 
reply.  "  We're  thinking  something  of  going  to 
the  north  pole,  but  we  may  go  to  the  moon  in 
stead;"  and  at  this  answer  there  was  a  general 
laugh. 

"  They  are  going  to  slip  away  if  they  can," 
was  Sam's  comment  to  half  a  dozen  of  his 
chums,  a  little  later.  "  We'll  have  to  be  on  our 
guard." 

All  of  the  young  folks  had  provided  themselves 
with  rice,  confetti,  old  shoes,  and  strips  of  white 
ribbon  with  which  to  celebrate  the  occasion — the; 
ribbon  being  for  the  purpose  of  decorating  the 
;young  couple's  baggage.  Sam  had  also  provided 
a  placard  which  read:  "Are  we  happy?  We 
ore!"  and  this  was  nailed  to  Tom's  trunk. 

"Where  are  they?" 

This  was  the  cry  that  went  up  in  the  middle 
of  one  of  the  dances.  Tom  had  slipped  off  into 
a  side  room,  and  Nellie  had  followed.  Now  both 
of  the  young  folks  were  missing. 

"They  are  going  out  the  back  way!"  cried 
Dick. 

"  Everybody  watch  the  stairs  and  the  doors !  " 


MRS.  TOM  ROVER— CONCLUSION         289 

exclaimed  Sam.  "  We  mustn't  let  them  get  away 
from  us ! " 

There  was  a  general  scramble,  commingled 
with  shrieks  of  laughter  as  the  young  folks  did 
their  best  to  locate  the  missing  couple.  Then  of 
a  sudden  came  a  wild  toot  from  an  automobile 
horn. 

"  There  they  are ! " 

"  Come  on,  everybody !  " 

There  followed  a  wild  scramble  from  the  house 
to  the  lane  leading  to  the  roadway.  In  the  lane 
was  an  automobile  belonging  to  the  Cedarville 
garage,  and  run  by  a  chauffeur.  On  the  back  seat 
were  Tom  and  Nellie,  waving  their  hands  gaily. 

"  Good-bye,  everybody !  Sorry  we  have  to 
leave  you  so  soon ! "  yelled  Tom. 

"  We'll  be  back  some  day !  Good-bye ! "  added 
Nellie. 

"After  them!  After  them!  "  yelled  Dick  and 
Sam;  and  then  all  of  the  young  folks  hurried  up 
the  lane,  pelting  those  in  the  automobile  with  rice 
and  old  shoes. 

"We  might  go  after  them  in  another  auto," 
suggested  Spud. 

"You'll  never  catch  that  machine,"  returned 
one  of  the  Putnam  Hall  cadets.  "  That's  the  fast 
est  car  around  Cedarville.  Tom  knew  what  he 
;was  doing  when  he  hired  it." 


290         THE   ROVER  BOYS  IN   BUSINESS 

The  automobile  with  the  newly-married  pair 
had  already  reached  the  highway.  Those  left  be 
hind  waved  their  hands  gaily,  and  Tom  and  Nel 
lie,  standing  up  in  the  tonneau,  waved  in  return. 
Then  with  another  loud  toot  of  the  horn  the  auto 
mobile  dashed  onward,  and  disappeared  around 
a  turn  of  the  road. 

"  Well,  good-bye  to  them,  and  may  they  be 
happy ! "  said  Anderson  Rover,  who  stood  on  the 
veranda  watching  the  departure. 

"  Yes,  I  think  they  deserve  to  be  happy,"  an 
swered  Mrs.  Laning,  who  stood  beside  him,  wip 
ing  the  tears  from  her  eyes.  "Nellie  is  a  good 
girl,  and  Tom  is  a  good  boy  in  spite  of  his  liking 
for  fun.  I  do  hope  they  get  along  in  life!" 

"  Come  on  back  and  finish  the  dance,"  said 
Sam  to  Grace.  And  then  catching  her  arm 
tightly,  he  whispered :  "  It  is  our  turn  next, 
isn't  it?" 

"  Maybe,  Sam,"  she  returned,  in  a  low  voice. 

Already  the  band  was  striking  up,  and  soon 
the  young  folks  had  resumed  their  dancing;  and 
here  for  the  time  being  we  will  leave  them,  and 
say  good-bye. 

THE  END 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
became  of  the  good  friends  you 
have  nude  in  this  book? 

Would  you  like  to  read  other 
stories  continuing  thek  adventures 
and  experiences,  ©r  other  books 
cpite  as  entertaining  by  the  same 
author? 

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per  which  comes  with  this  book, 
yem  wfll  find  a  wonderful  list  of 
stories  which  you  can  buy  at  the 
same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Don't  throw  away  the  Wrapper 

Use  it  as  a  handy  catalog  of  the  books 
you  want  some  day  to  have,  ^ut  in 
case  you  do  mislay  it,  write  to  the 
Tublishers  for  a  complete  catalog. 


THE  FAMOUS  ROVER  BOYS 
SERIES 

By  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(EDWARD  STRATEMEYER) 
Beautiful  Wrappers  in  Full  Color 


No  stories  for  boys  ever  published 
have  attained  the  tremendous  popu 
larity  of  this  famous  series.  Since  the 
publication  of  the  first  volume,  The 
Rover  Boys  at  School,  some  years  ago, 
over  three  million  copies  of  these 
books  have  been  sold.  They  are  well 
written  stories  dealing  with  the  Rover 
boys  in  a  great  many  different  kinds 
of  activities  and  adventures.  Each 
volume  holds  something  of  interest  to 
every  adventure  loving  boy. 

A  complete  list  of  titles  is  printed 
on  the  opposite  page. 


FAMOUS  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 
OVER  THREE  MILLION  COPIES  SOLD  OF  THIS  SERIES. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.     Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

A/ THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL 
//THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN 
//THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 
•j  THE  ROVER  BOYS  OUT  WEST 
'  THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 
.'/  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 
4 THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 
4  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 
//  THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 
/>  THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 
''  THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 
/'THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 
/•  THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 
/'  THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 
/THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 
•'/THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 
//THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 
//THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 
"THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

/THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 

/fTHE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 

/THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

TEE  ROVER  BOYS  UNDER  CANVAS 

.THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  HUNT 

/THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  LAND  OF  LUCK 

/TEE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

JTHE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  BEAR  LAKE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  SHIPWRECKED 

/THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SUNSET  TRAIL 

,THE  ROVER  BOYS  WINNING  A  FORTUNE 

GROSS-ET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,         NEW  YORK 


WESTERN  STORIES  FOR  BOYS 

By  JAMES  CODY  FERRIS 

Individual  Colored  Wrapper*  and  Illustration*  by 

WALTER  S.  ROGERS 
Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Thriflmg  tales  of  the  great  west,  told  primarily  for 
boys  but  which  will  be  read  by  aM  who  love  mystery, 
rapid  action,  and  adventures  in  the  great  open  spaces. 

The  Manly  Boys,  Roy  and  Teddy,  are  the  sons  of 
an  old  ranchman,  the  owner  of  many  thousands  of 
heads  of  cattle.  The  lads  know  how  to  ride,  how  to 
shoot,  and  how  to  take  care  of  themselves  under  any 
and  all  circumstances. 

The  cowboys  of  the  X  Bar  X  Ranch  are  real  cow 
boys,  on  the  job  when  required  but  full  of  fun  and 
daring — a  bunch  any  reader  will  be  delighted  to  know. 

THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  THE  RANCH 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  IN  THUNDER  CANYON 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  WHIRLPOOL  RIVER 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  BIG  BISON  TRAIL 
THB  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  THE  ROUND-UP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  NUGGET  CAMP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  RUSTLER'S  GAP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  GRIZZLY  PASS 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  LOST  IN  THE  RdCKIES 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


THE  HARDY  BOY'S  SERIES 

By  FRANKLIN  W.  DIXON 

Illustrated.     Every  Volume  Complete  in  lUoif. 

•"THE  HARDY  BOYS  are  sons  of  a  celebrated  Ameri- 
can  detective,  and  during  vacations  and  their  off  time 
from  school  they  help  their  father  by  hunting  down  clues 
themselves. 

/  THE  TOWER  TREASURE 

A  dying  criminal  confessed  that  his  loot  had  been  secreted  "in  the 
tower."  It  remained  for  the  Hardy  Boys  to  make  an  astonishing  discovery 
that  cleared  up  the  mystery. 

^THE  HOUSE  ON  THE  CLIFF 

The  honse  had  been  vacant  and  was  supposed  to  be  haunted.  Mr.  Hardy 
started  to  investigate — and  disappeared  1  An  odd  tale,  with  plenty  of  ex 
citement. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  OLD  MILL 

Counterfeit  money  was  in  circulation,  and  the  limit  was  reached  when 
Mrs.  Hardy  took  some  from  a  stranger.  A  tale  full  of  thrills. 

THE  MISSING  CHUMS 

Two  of  the  Hardy  Boys'  chums  take  a  motor  trip  down  the  coast.  They 
disappear  and  are  almost  rescued  by  their  friends  when  all  are  captured. 
A  thrilling  story  of  adventure. 

HUNTING  FOR  HIDDEN  GOLD 

Mr.  Hardy  is  injured  in  tracing  some  stolen  gold.  A  hunt  by  the  boya 
leads  to  an  abandoned  mine,  and  there  things  start  to  happen.  A  western 
story  all  boys  will  enjoy. 

THE  SHORE  ROAD  MYSTERY 

Automobiles  were  disappearing  most  mysteriously  from  the  Shore  Road. 
It  remained  for  the  Hardy  Boys  to  solve  the  mystery. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  CAVES 

'When  the  boys  reached  the  caves  they  came  unexpectedly  upon  a  queer 
old  h  ermit. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  CABIN  ISLAND 

A  story  of  queer  adventures'on  a  rockbound  island. 

'THE  GREAT  AIRPORT  MYSTERY 

'   The  Hardy  Boys  solvelthelmystery  of  the  disappearance  of  some  valua 
ble  mail. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE  TED  SCOTT  FLYING  STORIES 

B-O  FRANKLIN  W.  DIXON 


;  Illustrated.    Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

No  subject  has  so  thoroughly  caught  the  imagination  of 
yooogAnaerica  as  aviation.  This  series  has  been  inspired 
by  recent  daring  feats  of  the  air,  and  is  dedicated  to  Liod- 
berg,  Byrd,  Chamberlin  and  other  heroes  of  the  skies. 

j  OVER  THE  OCEAN  TO  PARIS ; 

or  Ted  Scott's  daring  long  distance  flight. 
/RESCUED  IN  THE  CLOUDS; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  Hero  of  the  Air. 

OVER  THE  ROCKIES  WITH  THE  AIR  MAIL  ; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  Lost  in  the  Wilderness. 

FIRST  STOP  HONOLULU ; 

or,  Ted  Scott,  over  the  Pacific. 
THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  LOST  FLYERS ; 
or,  Ted  Scott,  Over  the  West  Indies. 
SOUTH  OF  THE  RIO  GRANDE ; 
or,  Ted  Scott,  On  a  Secret  Mission. 
/ACROSS  THE  PACIFIC; 
or,  Ted  Scott's  Hop  to  Australia. 

THE  LONE  EAGLE  OF  THE  BORDER ; 
or,  Ted  Scott  and  the  Diamond  Smugglers. 

FLYING  AGAINST  TIME ; 

or,  Breaking  the  Ocean  to  Ocean  Record. 

OVER  THE  JUNGLE  TRAILS  ; 

or,  Ted  Scott  and  the  Missing  Explorers. 

LOST  AT  THE  SOUTH  POLE; 

or,  Ted  Scott  in  Blizzard  Land. 

THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  ALASKA ; 
»r,   Ted  Scott's  Search  in  Nugget  Valley. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE    TOM    SWIFT    SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Uniform  Style  of    Binding.     Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Every  boy  possesses  some  form  of  inventive  genius.  Tom  Swift 
is  a.  bright,  ingenious  boy  and  his  inventions  and  adventures  mate 
the  most  interesting  kind  of  reading. 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 
TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 
TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 
TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 
TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 
TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  UNDERSEA  SEARCH 
TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  FIRE  FIGHTERS 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  FLYING  BOAT 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  OIL  GUSHER 
»  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  CHEST  OF  SECRETS 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRLINE  EXPRESS 
TOM  SWIFT  CIRCLING  THE  GLOBE 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  TALKING  PICTURES 
TO.vt  SWIFT  AND  HIS  HOUSE  ON  WHEELS 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  DIRIGIBLE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE  DON  STURDY  SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Author  of  "  The  Tom  Swift  Series  " 

Every  red-blooded  boy  will  enjoy  the  thrilling  adventures 
of  Don  Sturdy.  In  company  with  his  undes,  one  a  big 
game  hunter,  the  other  a  noted  scientist,  be  travels  far  and 
wide — into  the  jungles  of  South  America,  across  the  Sahara, 
deep  into  the  African  jungle,  up  where  the  Alaskan  volca 
noes  spout,  down  among  the  head  hunteis  of  Borneo  and 
many  other  places  where  there  is  danger  and  excitement. 
Every  boy  who  has  known  Tom  Swift  will  at  once  become 
the  boon  companion  of  daring  Don  Sturdy. 

S  DON  STURDY  ON  THE  DESERT  Of  MYSTERY 
DON  STURDY  WITH  THE  BIG  SNAKE  HUNTERS 
DON  STURDY  IN  THE  TOMBS  OF  GOLD 
DON  STURDY  ACROSS  THE  NORTH  POLE 
DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  VOLCANOES 
DON  STURDY  IN  THE  PORT  OF  LOST  SHIPS 
DON  STURDY  AMONG  THE  GORILLAS 
DON  STURDY  CAPTURED  BY  HEAD  HUNTERS 
DON  STURDY  IN  LION  LAND 
DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  GIANTS 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

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